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‘A Symbolic Achievement’: Haniyeh’s Death a Blow to Hamas, But Will Not Change Terror Group Significantly, Analysts Say
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, March 26, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
The assassination of exiled Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has sent shock waves through the Palestinian terrorist organization and the broader Middle East but, on its own, is unlikely to undermine the Islamist group’s stability in the long term, analysts say.
Haniyeh, who as the terror group’s political chief is known for his role in recent Gaza ceasefire negotiations, was killed in Tehran early Wednesday morning by the “Zionist entity,” according to both Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hamas. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the assassination. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was not involved in Haniyeh’s elimination, only commenting that pursuing an immediate ceasefire was “imperative.”
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the terror group remained unfettered by Haniyeh’s death. “We are waging an open war to liberate Jerusalem and are ready to pay any price,” Abu Zuhri said. “Hamas is a concept and an institution and not persons. Hamas will continue on this path regardless of the sacrifices and we are confident of victory.”
Ibrahim Madhoun, an analyst closely affiliated with Hamas, underscored the terror group’s history of recovering from similar losses, having endured the assassinations of various political and military leaders in the past. It “came out of those scenarios stronger,” Madhoun told The New York Times.
Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to the prime minister of Israel, said that Haniyeh’s assassination was mostly symbolic.
“Hanieyh will be replaced within 48 hours, maybe by [Moussa] Abu Marzouk, or Khaled Mashal,” Amidror said in a call with The Algemeiner and other outlets.
“It is a symbolic action to make clear to everyone that Israel is ready to act whenever they can,” he added. “It says something about the determination of Israel to get rid of its enemies.”
Hamas’ Gaza-based chief Yahya Sinwar was a “much more important” target, Amidror said, that would have far-reaching repercussions on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, said Haniyeh’s assassination was a part of a plan to kill “all those who were involved in the Oct. 7 attack and the killing, burning, beheading, raping, of our citizens.”
Hamas launched the ongoing war with its invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, when the Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 hostages to Gaza. Sinwar has been widely considered the mastermind of the attack.
Yadlin pointed out that the assassination occurred in Iran rather than Qatar, emphasizing that the choice was likely made to avoid jeopardizing ongoing hostage negotiations.
“Israel doesn’t want to open a new front with Doha,” he said, referring to Qatar’s role in mediating ongoing ceasefire negotiations. For years, Qatar has hosted senior Hamas leaders, including Haniyeh, who reportedly lived there in luxury.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei expressed outrage over Wednesday’s killing, vowing retaliation. In a statement released by the state-run IRNA news agency, Khamenei described the incident as a “martyrdom” inflicted by the “criminal and terrorist Zionist regime.” He vowed that Iran would impose a “harsh punishment” in response to the killing of Haniyeh, whom he referred to as a “beloved guest.”
Iran is the chief international sponsor of Hamas, providing the terror group with weapons, funding, and training. Haniyeh has traveled to Iran multiple times since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, including in May when he delivered a eulogy for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at a funeral.
The Hamas political chief was in Iran this week meeting with Khamenei and other top regime officials and participated on Tuesday in the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Despite being more directly involved in Hamas’ political affairs than its military operations, Haniyeh was placed on the US State Department’s Specially Designated Global Terrorists list in 2018.
“Haniyeh has close links with Hamas’ military wing and has been a proponent of armed struggle, including against civilians,” the department said at the time while announcing his terror designation. “He has reportedly been involved in terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens. Hamas has been responsible for an estimated 17 American lives killed in terrorist attacks.”
Haniyeh’s killing occurred after Israel conducted an airstrike in Beirut, eliminating Fuad Shukr, whom it identified as the military commander of Hezbollah’s terrorist operations.
Yadlin said that Iran, and its proxy Hezbollah, would take time before responding, and said that the response would be measured because they were not interested in igniting a full-scale war. “I can see them trying to attack Israelis in the global arena, like embassies and tourists, as they have done in the past,” he said.
Mohammad Dahlan, former senior official from the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah movement and PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ main rival, condemned the “cowardly” assassination of Haniyeh, who he called a “great national leader.”
According to Amidror, Israel had more than a year to complete its campaign of destroying Hamas in Gaza. Another three months of intense conflict were required to eliminate the remaining battalions, primarily based in Rafah, he said, followed by a year of operations to “clean up” the remnants of the terror group in the rest of Gaza. This would involve routine raids into the Palestinian enclave, similar to those conducted in the West Bank during the Second Intifada.
“We’re at the end of the beginning,” he said.
The post ‘A Symbolic Achievement’: Haniyeh’s Death a Blow to Hamas, But Will Not Change Terror Group Significantly, Analysts Say first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Bryan Singer Secretly Filmed Period Drama With Jon Voight Critical of Israel for Lebanon War: Report
Jon Voight at the opening night of the 2023 Beverly Hills Film Festival held at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood, California, on April 19, 2023. Photo: FS//AdMedia/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Jewish-American filmmaker Bryan Singer has returned to the director’s chair after a long hiatus with a film starring Oscar winner Jon Voight that is set in the Middle East and critical of Israel, Variety revealed on Wednesday.
Singer secretly filmed the period drama and one source who saw the final cut, but is not involved with the production, thinks the feature is “going to be a huge hotbed of controversy” because of its attention on the Middle East. “It makes Israel look really bad and could be polarizing,” the insider told Variety.
The source said the film is set in late 1970s or early 1980s. On June 6, 1982, Israel launched the First Lebanon War against Palestinian terrorists based in southern Lebanon following the attempted assassination of Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom Shlomo Argov by a terrorist cell.
The “Superman Returns” director shot the new film in Greece in 2023, and it focuses on the relationship between a father and son, Variety added. Israeli filmmaker Yariv Horovoitz is also reportedly collaborating on the project. There are no details about a release date.
Voight is a longtime supporter of Israel and said in 2018 that he feels an obligation to combat antisemitism. Last year, he was critical of his daughter, actress and filmmaker Angelina Jolie, when she slammed Israel’s defensive military campaign against Hamas in Gaza following the Palestinian terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
Singer – who was raised Jewish in suburban New Jersey – has not directed in mainstream Hollywood since he was infamously fired by 20th Century Fox from “Bohemian Rhapsody” in 2017 and replaced during shooting, after several absences during the film’s production. He was signed on to direct a remake of the action film “Red Sonja,” but was reportedly fired from the project amid allegations in 2019 of sexual misconduct involving minors, which he denied.
The director’s past credits include four films in the “X-Men” franchise, “Valkyrie,” and the Oscar-winning film “The Usual Suspects.”
Singer faced sexual misconduct allegations starting in 1997, when two teenage boys claimed the director ordered them to strip naked for a scene in his film “Apt Pupil.” The filmmaker has never faced criminal charges for the sexual misconduct allegations made against him in 1997 or in later years.
Singer has been living in Israel for several years and Variety reported in 2023 that he was looking to make a comeback into the mainstream Hollywood film industry with features set in and around Israel.
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Italian Law Professor Faces Backlash Over Viral Antisemitic Social Media Posts
An Italian law professor is facing mounting backlash after past antisemitic social media posts went viral, sparking outrage among the local Jewish community and public officials.
Professor Luca Nivarra, who teaches in the Faculty of Law at the University of Palermo in Sicily, has come under scrutiny after several of his social media posts went viral, spreading antisemitic and hateful content.
“I don’t want to meddle in matters that don’t concern me directly, but, having very few tools at our disposal to oppose the Palestinian Holocaust, a signal, however modest, could be to unfriend your Jewish ‘friends’ on Facebook, even the ‘good’ ones, who declare themselves disgusted by what the Israeli government and the IDF are doing,” Nivarra wrote in one of his posts.
“They lie, and with their lies, they help cover up the horror: it’s a small, tiny thing, but let’s start making them feel alone, face to face with the monstrosity to which they are complicit,” he continued.
On Tuesday, the university issued a public statement distancing itself from Nivarra’s antisemitic remarks. Despite mounting public outrage, Nivarra has not faced any disciplinary action yet.
Massimo Midiri, Dean of the University of Palermo, condemned such hateful rhetoric, calling it “a personal and culturally dangerous initiative, far removed from our academic principles.”
“Nivarra’s statements risk fueling the very dynamics he claims to oppose. Complex issues like the Middle East conflict require dialogue and critical engagement, not exclusion or ideological censorship,” Midiri said in a statement.
Italy’s Minister of University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, also denounced Nivarra’s remarks, saying they “not only offend the Jewish people but also all who uphold the values of respect and civil coexistence.”
“Conflicts are overcome through dialogue, not isolation and it is only through this path that an authentic journey toward peace can be built, an objective to which Italy and the international community continue to dedicate their efforts,” the Italian diplomat wrote in a post on X.
This is not the first time Nivarra has made public antisemitic statements and spread anti-Jewish hateful rhetoric. In his previous Facebook posts, he also wrote that “there are no good Israelis” and that “Israeli society is morally rotten.”
Nivarra also compared the Israeli Defense Forces’ defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas to the actions of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann during the Holocaust.
“The only difference between Adolf Eichmann and the IDF is that Eichmann defended himself by saying he was following orders, while Israeli soldiers happily do what they do,” he wrote in another social media post.
Since his posts went viral, Nivarra has faced mounting criticism on social media, but he has denied any accusations of antisemitism.
“You can call me an anti-Semite when I am not one at all. There is an insurmountable distance between me and the perpetrators of these horrors,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
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‘Six Million Not Enough’: Minneapolis School Shooter Scrawled Antisemitic, Anti-Israel Messages on Guns
Law enforcement officers set up barriers after a shooting at Annunciation Church, which is also home to an elementary school, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, Aug. 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ben Brewer
The lone suspect in Wednesday’s mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, scrawled antisemitic and anti-Israel messages across his weapons and allegedly shared his desire to kill “filthy Zionist Jews” in a notebook before unleashing a barrage of gunfire on students and parishioners.
Law enforcement officials identified the shooter as Robin Westman, 23, who died by suicide at the scene. According to police, Westman opened fire during morning Mass in the school’s adjoining church, killing two children (aged 8 and 10) and injuring 17 others.
Witnesses said the church erupted in chaos as stained-glass windows shattered and gunfire ripped through pews filled with children. Teachers and staff rushed to shield students, with some ushering them outside the building.
The shooting is being investigated as both a domestic terrorism case and a hate crime against Catholics, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.
However, the assailant also appeared to endorse antisemitic conspiracies and express a desire to kill Jews and Israelis.
Researchers at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported they found videos believed to be from Westman showing firearms and ammunition magazines marked with the antisemitic messages. Investigators are also reviewing the now-deleted YouTube channel allegedly linked to Westman that featured disturbing videos uploaded before the attack.
“Israel must fall and “Burn Israel” were among the writings on the weapons, as seen in the video. In addition, the messages on the guns included “6 million wasn’t enough” — an apparent reference to the 6 million Jews killed during the Holocaust, and “Burn HIAS” — an apparent reference to a Jewish organization which helps settle refugees.
Westman also allegedly wrote “kill Donald Trump” on a gun magazine as well as anti-black and anti-Latino racist messaging.
The videos also included images of a notebook with writing in the Cyrillic alphabet.
“If I will carry out a racially motivated attack, it would be most likely against filthy Zionist jews,” the notebook said, according to a translation by the New York Post. Westman also allegedly wrote slogans such as “Free Palestine.”
Images of the content has been widely circulated on social media.
Robin Westman, the suspected shooter in today’s mass shooting at the Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, appears to have had a YouTube Channel named “Robin W” which has since been deleted, that contained several video consisting of guns, a manifesto… pic.twitter.com/B3JJUOIGJp
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) August 27, 2025
Shocking antisemitic messages spotted on the Minneapolis shooter’s gun including:
– “Israel must fall,”
– “Burn Israel”
– “6 million wasn’t enough.”
– “ Burn HIAS (originally a Jewish resettlement org for refugees)Via our colleague @RealSaavedra pic.twitter.com/NFUnkRNlDs
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) August 27, 2025
An analysis of the shooter’s apparent manifesto by the ADL found no singular political motive. The assailant “scrawled numerous references and symbols on their weapons linked to a broad range of mass attackers, mimicking the 2019 Christchurch, 2022 Buffalo, and 2025 Antioch shooters, among others, who marked their weapons before launching their attacks,” the ADL wrote.
“The references found on the attacker’s weapons do not suggest a deep knowledge of white supremacy. Instead, the references point to a broader fixation on mass violence,” the group concluded.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who is Jewish, spoke with raw emotion after visiting the scene. “There are no words that can capture the horror and the evil of this unspeakable act,” he said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the students “were met with evil and horror and death.”
“We often come to these and say these unspeakable tragedies or there’s no words for this. There shouldn’t be words for these types of incidents because they should not happen and there’s no words that are going to ease the pain of the families today,” Walz added.
The suspect was reportedly a transgender woman who changed her name from Robert to Robin in 2020. Westman’s mother worked as a secretary at Annunciation until 2021, according to news reports, and authorities are still examining whether that connection influenced the target.
The tragedy adds to a growing list of school and faith-based shootings in the United States this year. Experts warn that antisemitic conspiracy theories, spread widely online, can inspire such violent attacks.
The tragedy came a week after the ADL released a new report highlighting how extremist online spaces are fueling not only school shootings but also a broader rise in antisemitism across the US. According to the report, many websites containing violent and gruesome material have pulled young people into white supremacist propaganda and conspiracy theories, inspiring them to commit deadly attacks.