Middle East on edge after Haniyeh killed in Israeli attack

Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike in Iran on Wednesday, escalating tensions in the Middle East and prompted heightened global concern.

Hamas vowed the act "will not go unanswered," as its armed wing said Wednesday that the killing of its political leader takes the war with Israel to a "new levels," warning of repercussions for the entire region.

"This assassination ... takes the war to new levels and will have enormous consequences for the entire region," the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, whose fighters are engaged in fierce battles with Israeli troops in Gaza, said in a statement.

Israel declined to comment on the Tehran strike, which came after it struck a Hezbollah stronghold in south Beirut on Tuesday, targeting a senior commander of the Lebanese militant group it blamed for a deadly weekend rocket strike on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

Hamas political bureau member Musa Abu Marzuk vowed the group would retaliate. "The assassination of leader Ismail Haniyeh is a cowardly act and will not go unanswered," he said.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei too threatened "harsh punishment" for Haniyeh's killing, saying: "We consider it our duty to seek revenge for his blood as he was martyred in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards also announced the death, saying Haniyeh's residence in Tehran was hit and he was killed along with a bodyguard.

Iranian media said the strike that killed Haniyeh took place at around 2:00 am (2230 GMT), targeting "the special residences for war veterans in north Tehran" where he was staying.

Haniyeh had travelled to Tehran to attend Tuesday's swearing-in of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

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