Israel’s prime minister has warned aggressors face a “heavy price” – after separate strikes killed the political leader of Hamas and a senior Hezbollah commander.
Hamas and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed Ismail Haniyeh had been assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday morning.
Although the strike is widely assumed to have been carried out by Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has made no claim of responsibility and has said it will not comment on the killing.
Ismail Haniyeh. Pic: AP
Without mentioning the assassination of Haniyeh, Mr Netanyahu said Israel had recently delivered crushing blows to Iran’s proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah, and would respond forcefully to any attack.
“We are prepared for any scenario and we will stand united and determined against any threat,” he said in a televised statement.
“Israel will exact a heavy price for any aggression against us from any arena.”
But Mr Netanyahu praised the IDF for its strike on Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr in Lebanon’s capital Beirut in retaliation for a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed a dozen young people.
Mr Netanyahu called Shukr “one of the most wanted terrorists in the world” and added: “He was a key factor in the connection between Iran and Hezbollah.”
Mr Netanyahu said he would “not give in” to voices calling for the end to the war in Gaza.
“There has not been a single week when I have not been told domestically and from outside the country: end the war,” he said.
“I did not give in to those voices and I will not give in to them today.”
Mr Netanyahu said his government has made “brave, courageous decisions” despite external pressure.
“We will continue to fight together, and with God’s help, we will reign victorious.”
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Who was Ismail Haniyeh?
It was a “very confident, bellicose performance” from Mr Netanyahu, Sky’s international correspondent John Sparks said, adding he “sounded happy” and “satisfied with himself”.
“What Israel has shown is that it can go anywhere in the region and it can take its enemies out,” he said.
Vows of retaliation and ‘major repercussions’
Hamas’s armed wing has said Haniyeh’s killing would “take the battle to new dimensions and have major repercussions”.
Iran has vowed to retaliate and said the US bore responsibility because of its support for Israel.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel had provided the grounds for “harsh punishment for itself” and it was Tehran’s duty to avenge Haniyeh’s death.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas fighters killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took some 250 hostages on 7 October.
Nearly 10 months of war in the coastal enclave has killed more than 39,400 people and wounded more than 90,900, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.