Al-Azhar Condemns Haniyeh’s Assassination

Al-Azhar, the world’s leading Islamic Sunni institution, strongly condemned on Wednesday the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the chief of Hamas’ Political Bureau, in Tehran earlier Wednesday describing it as a “heinous crime committed by a treacherous occupying entity”

Al-Azhar emphasized that the “martyred fighter spent his life defending Palestine, central to all Arabs and Muslims” and that “the dark criminal hands assassinated him at dawn today as part of the atrocious attacks carried out by the occupying entity.”

Al-Azhar also affirmed that such assassinations will not weaken the resolve of the struggling Palestinian people, who have made – and continue to make – great sacrifices to regain their rights and establish an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Furthermore, Al-Azhar extended its deepest condolences and sympathy to the Palestinian people and Haniyeh’s family asking the Almighty to grant the deceased vast mercy and provide his family and relatives with patience and solace.

Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday.

Iranian authorities announced that rigorous investigations have been launched into the targeted killing of Haniyeh in the capital and the results will subsequently be released.

The Islamic Republic has declared three days of national mourning for the loss of the Palestinian resistance leader.

Palestinian groups have already condemned his assassination in the strongest terms, vowing to make those behind the assassination pay the price of the heinous act.

Haniyeh, 62, was born in a refugee camp near Gaza City and joined Hamas in the late 1980s during the First Intifada or uprising.

As Hamas grew in power, Haniyeh rose through the ranks and was appointed part of a “collective leadership” in 2004 and reached the Hamas top job in 2017.

Three of his sons were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza in April.