Ismail Haniyeh

The funeral of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was held in Qatar, while memorial services took place in Turkey, Lebanon, Yemen, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

On Friday, as the West braces for potential destabilizing actions in the Middle East, thousands gathered in Doha for prayers before the burial of the head of the Islamist organization, Hamas.

Hundreds of people gathered at a mosque in Qatar on Friday to farewell slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh after his killing in Tehran, an attack blamed on Israel that deepened fears of a regional war.

Haniyeh, the Palestinian armed group's political chief, played a key role in mediated talks aimed at ending nearly 10 months of war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.

Al Jazeera journalist Ismail Al Ghoul was killed in an airstrike in Gaza, with the Israel Defense Forces suspecting him of being a Hamas agent and participating in the October 7 attack on Israel, Reuters reported.

Israel's foreign ministry summoned the deputy Turkish ambassador for a reprimand on Friday after Turkey's embassy in Tel Aviv lowered its flag to half mast in response to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

"The State of Israel will not tolerate expressions of mourning for a murderer like Ismail Haniyeh," Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Öncü Keçeli has urged Israel that it won't achieve peace by killing negotiators and threatening diplomats in response to Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz' message targeting Türkiye.

A symbolic ceremony for Ismail Haniyeh will be held today at Hagia Sophia in Istanbul during the midday prayer, nearly simultaneously with his funeral in Doha.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the ceremony, while the prayer will be led by Ali Erbaş, head of the Directorate of Religious Affairs.

The Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah launched rockets into northern Israel, shortly after Israel's National Security Council issued a warning about potential attacks by Hezbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas. The warning mentioned possible assaults on Jewish institutions and Israeli missions abroad.

A chain reaction has been sparked by the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, with authorities in several countries on alert for a possible strike on Israeli targets in retaliation.

Türkiye on Friday blocked access to the Instagram social media network, the national communications authority said, following censorship accusations against the U.S. company by Türkiye's  communications director.

The BTK communications authority said in a post on its website that "instagram.com has been blocked by a decision on the date of 02/08/2024", without adding further details.

Iran and its regional allies vowed retaliation on Thursday for the deaths of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, raising regional tensions as mourners filled Tehran's city centre calling for revenge.

A public funeral was held for Hamas's political chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital where he was killed early Wednesday in an attack on which Israel has not commented.