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Live: Slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh buried in Qatar
Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh was buried in Qatar on Friday following his killing in the Iranian capital of Tehran, and his possible succcessor told mourners his death would only make the Palestinian militant group more determined in its struggle against Israel. Haniyeh’s assassination has heightened regional tensions as the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel nears its 11th month. Follow FRANCE 24’s live blog for all the latest developments.
Issued on: 02/08/2024 – 07:53
1 min
Mourners pray near the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque during final prayers for Ismail Haniyeh at his funeral in Doha on August 2, 2024.
Mourners pray near the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque during final prayers for Ismail Haniyeh at his funeral in Doha on August 2, 2024. © Mahmud Hams, AFP
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Summary:
Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh was buried on Friday t a cemetery in Lusail, north of the Qatari capital, following funeral prayers at the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab mosque.
Haniyeh’s assassination has left US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators scrambling to salvage talks for a ceasefire deal in Gaza after nearly 10 months of war.
At least 39,480 Palestinians have been killed and 91,128 injured in Israel’s war in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Hamas-led October 7 attacks resulted in the deaths of more than 1,190 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures. Some 250 people were taken hostage, with about 120 remaining in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Many have been declared dead by Israeli authorities.
LIVE
43 minutes ago
Pentagon tells Israel it will adjust US troops in Middle East
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has informed Israel about current and future changes to US forces in the Middle East, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, though he had not decided which additional capabilities to send.
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Singh added that the move could include deploying additional forces to the region, but Austin had not made a decision.
2 hours ago
Israeli navy completes test of LRAD long-range defence system
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2 hours ago
Demonstrators in Pakistan protest against Haniyeh’s assassination
Activists and supporters of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party shout slogans as they take part in a protest in Quetta on August 2, 2024, against the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in an air strike in Tehran.
Demonstrators in Pakistan protest against Haniyeh’s assassination
© Banaras Khan, AFP
3 hours ago
‘The Iranian regime will not commit suicide’ to avenge Hamas chief Haniyeh
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran on Wednesday in a strike blamed on Israel.
Iran has promised to avenge his death, sparking fears of a broader regional conflict stemming from the Gaza war.
FRANCE 24 examines what kind of Iranian “response” can be expected.
FRANCE 24
‘The Iranian regime will not commit suicide’ to avenge Hamas chief Haniyeh
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran on Wednesday in a strike blamed on Israel. Iran has promised to avenge his death, sparking fears of a broader regional conflict stemming from…
Read the article on https://www.france24.com
3 hours ago
Slain Hamas leader Haniyeh buried in Qatar
Hamas’ top leader Ismail Haniyeh was buried in Qatar on Friday following his assassination in the Iranian capital Tehran, and his possible succcessor told mourners his death would only make the Palestinian militant group more determined in its struggle against Israel.
Haniyeh was laid to rest in a cemetery in the city of Lusail after a funeral ceremony at the Iman Mohamed Ibn Abd Al-Wahhab Mosque in Qatar’s capital Doha.
3 hours ago
Israel advances most West Bank settlements in decades, says EU
Israel advanced last year the highest number of settlements in the occupied West Bank since the Oslo Accords of the 1990s, the European Union’s representative office in the Palestinian territories said on Friday.
Plans for 12,349 housing units moved towards approval in the West Bank, the EU office said, warning of the impact on a potential two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Another 18,333 units moved forward in the planning process in annexed east Jerusalem, the EU office said.
The total – 30,682 units in both the West Bank and east Jerusalem – is the highest since 2012, it added.
3 hours ago
Hezbollah resumes steady rocket, artillery fire against Israel
Hezbollah forces on Friday resumed rocket and artillery attacks against Israel, ending the lull along the border following Israel’s killing of the Lebanese group’s military commander in Beirut.
Hezbollah said it had fired a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli warplane flying in Lebanese airspace overnight and forced it to turn back. Its forces also carried out two artillery attacks and two rocket strikes at military positions in northern Israel, it said.
The Israeli military said in a statement it had successfully intercepted an aerial target coming from Lebanon into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israeli air strikes and artillery fire hit several villages in southern Lebanon on Friday, according to Lebanese state media, a day after an Israeli strike killed at least five Syrian migrant workers in southern Lebanon, according to medics.
The Israeli military also said it had hit two Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon.
4 hours ago
France tightens security for Jews over Mideast tension
France on Friday ordered additional security measures at Jewish sites across the country, saying there was danger of revenge attacks after the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
In a message sent to regional prefects, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said an “immediate strengthening” of protection was required.
“The risk of acts being committed is real,” he said in the message seen by AFP, especially since “many Israeli nationals are on our territory because of the Olympic Games”.
Darmanin ordered police, gendarmes and the military protection force Sentinelle to be mobilised “without delay” to guarantee the protection of “strategic locations frequented by our Jewish fellow citizens, especially during religious services”.
4 hours ago
Haniyeh’s last words: ‘If a leader leaves, another will come’
As if he knew his time had come, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s last words to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Ali Khamenei before he was assassinated in Tehran were a Koranic verse about life, death, immortality and resilience.
“It is Allah who gives life and causes death. And Allah is all-aware of all actions … ‘If a leader leaves, another will arise’,” Haniyeh said in Arabic. A few hours later he was killed in a suspected Israeli strike on his guest house.
6 hours ago
France urges nationals visiting Iran to leave immediately due to ‘risk of escalation in the region’
France on Friday urged its nationals visiting Iran to leave immediately, after Tehran accused Israel of killing Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas, on its soil.
“Due to the increased risk of a military escalation in the region, visiting French nationals still in Iran are invited to leave as soon as possible,” the foreign ministry said.
7 hours ago
Israel summons Turkish envoy over half-mast salute for Hamas leader
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 President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Friday, August 2 a day of national mourning for Haniyeh.
8 hours ago
Hundreds in Qatar bid farewell to slain Hamas leader Haniyeh
Hundreds of people gathered at a mosque in Qatar on Friday to bid farewell to slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh after his killing in Tehran, an attack Iran and Hamas blamed on Israel that deepened fears of a regional war.
Mourners lined up for funeral prayers inside Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab mosque, the Gulf emirate’s largest. Others prayed on mats outside in temperatures that reached 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit).
Draped in a Palestinian flag, his casket was carried briefly into the mosque before leaving again for burial in Lusail, north of the Qatari capital.
Many Doha mourners were dressed in crisp white traditional robes, others in street clothes. But most wore scarves that combined the Palestinian flag with a checkered keffiyeh pattern and the message in English: “Free Palestine”.
Hundreds in Qatar bid farewell to slain Hamas leader Haniyeh
People waving Palestinian flags walk toward the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab mosque in Doha to bid farewell to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on August 2, 2024. © Karim Jaafar, AFP
11 hours ago
Australia blames ‘serious failures’ for lethal Israeli strike on aid convoy in April
An Israeli strike that killed seven charity workers in a Gaza aid convoy was the result of “mistaken identification” and a raft of other “serious failures”, the Australian government found in a report released Friday.
Australian national Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom was among a group of seven World Central Kitchen staff killed when their convoy – working to distribute food and water – was mistakenly hit by Israeli missiles in April.
Canberra is now pushing for Israel to apologise to the victims’ families and urging its military to rethink how it engages with aid groups in the Palestinian enclave.
The deaths of an Australian, three Britons, a North American, a Palestinian and a Pole triggered global outrage.
Former Australian air force chief Mark Binskin was tasked with monitoring Israel’s investigation. His declassified report, released Friday, said that aside from the litany of “serious failures” uncovered, Israel’s actions in the months following the strike had been “timely” and “appropriate”.
12 hours ago
Biden says killing of Hamas leader Haniyeh not helpful for ceasefire talks
US President Joe Biden said on Thursday the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was not helpful for reaching a ceasefire in Israel’s war in Gaza.
There has been an increased risk of an escalation into a broader Middle East war after the assassination of Haniyeh in Iran drew threats of retaliation against Israel.
“It doesn’t help,” Biden told reporters late on Thursday, when asked if Haniyeh’s assassination ruined the chances for a ceasefire agreement.
Biden also said he had a direct conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu earlier on Thursday.
12 hours ago
Turkey blocks access to Instagram, says state communications authority, following censorship claims
Turkey on Friday blocked access to the Instagram social media network, the national communications authority said without explanation, following censorship accusations against the US company by a high-ranking Turkish official.
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.
Many users living in Turkey complained on the X platform that they could not refresh their Instagram feed, an issue verified by AFP journalists.
The Turkish presidency’s communications director Fahrettin Altun on Wednesday hit out at Meta-owned Instagram, accusing the platform of “impeding people from publishing messages of condolence for the martyr (Ismail) Haniyeh”.
“This is a very clear and obvious attempt at censure,” Altun said on X.
13 hours ago
Blinken and UAE counterpart discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts, humanitarian aid
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed with the United Arab Emirates Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, release hostages and increase humanitarian assistance, the US mission to the Gulf Arab state said on Friday.
13 hours ago
Slain Hamas chief Haniyeh to be buried in Qatar
Qatar is to hold on Friday funeral ceremonies for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh after his killing in an attack blamed on Israel that has deepened fears of a regional escalation.
Haniyeh, the Palestinian armed group’s political chief, had resided in Doha along with other members of the Hamas political office.
He will be buried at a cemetery in Lusail, north of the Qatari capital, following funeral prayers at the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab mosque, the gas-rich emirate’s largest.
Hamas has said “Arab and Islamic leaders” as well as representatives of other Palestinian factions and members of the public would attend the events.
Yesterday’s key developments:
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed on Thursday to respond to Israel’s killing of the group’s top military commander Fuad Shukr in a strike in southern Beirut, saying its decades-old foe had “crossed red lines”.
The Israeli military said Thursday it has confirmed that Hamas’s military leader, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an air strike in Gaza in July. There was no immediate comment from Hamas on the announcement.
Iran held funeral processions on Thursday for Hamas leader Haniyeh after he was killed in a strike in Tehran that Iran blamed on Israel.
About casualty figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry:
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent. For more on the health ministry’s casualty figures, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
