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Haniyeh’s Death in Tehran Shows Iranian Role in Hamas’ Warfare

Iranian protesters carry a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a Yemeni flag as they burn an Israeli flag during an anti-US and anti-British protest in front of the British embassy in downtown Tehran, Iran, Jan. 12, 2024. Photo: Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh spent the final hours before his assassination in a Tehran safehouse that belongs to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Haniyeh’s death in the Iranian capital underscores the depth of the relationship between Hamas and the clerical regime, whose funding, training, and equipment have proven indispensable to the Gaza terror group.

Nevertheless, the White House continues to focus on reducing tensions and negotiating a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas without addressing Tehran’s role in directing its network of proxies to attack Israel on multiple fronts.

Haniyeh died the night of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration, attended by leaders representing the main proxies that comprise the Tehran regime’s “Axis of Resistance.” This included Hamas’ Haniyeh, the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem, and Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam from Yemen.

These men are all regular visitors to Tehran, and Iran does not hide its association with terrorist leaders, or its celebration of their efforts.

Masoud Pezeshkian may be a reformist compared to the ultra-hardliners within the clerical regime, but his election in no way signals a rejection of Tehran’s efforts to spread its revolutionary Islamist doctrine and eliminate the Jewish State.

Following Haniyeh’s death, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, declared it the regime’s duty to “take revenge.”

“The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our home, but it also prepared a harsh punishment for itself,” Khamenei said on his website.

The IRGC echoed Khamenei’s remarks, and claimed to have launched an investigation into the security breach that led to the assassination. The Houthis also vowed to take revenge in cooperation with the Axis of Resistance, hinting at a potential coordinated attack against Israel.

A major decision facing Tehran is whether to retaliate directly from its own soil, or rely on its proxies — which would reduce the odds of an Israeli counterstrike inside Iran’s borders.

The Islamic Republic has directly targeted Israel from its own territory only once, after an Israeli airstrike on Damascus this April killed top IRGC leaders responsible for operations in Syria and Lebanon. The Iranian regime launched approximately 331 projectiles toward Israel, including 185 drones, 36 cruise missiles, and 110 surface-to-surface missiles. While most were fired from Iran, some originated in Iraq and Yemen.

Israel, the US, Jordan, and reportedly Saudi Arabia intercepted many of these projectiles, with Israeli officials reporting no casualties.

Tehran’s support for Hamas dates back to the 1980s. Throughout the years, Iran has provided the terrorist group with hundreds of millions of dollars, as well as training, weapons, and rockets. According to the US State Department, Iran provides about $100 million annually to Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas. By 2023, Israeli estimates were even higher, claiming Iran had increased its funding for Hamas to $350 million a year.

Hamas and Islamic Republic leaders frequently convene in Tehran, Damascus, and Beirut. In addition to Iran’s alleged role in orchestrating the October 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis, since that day Iranian-backed militias across the region have been attacking Israel on multiple fronts under the Islamic Republic’s leadership.

On the northern front, Hezbollah has frequently launched missiles at Israeli territory and also deployed drones for surveillance and attacks. A recent Hezbollah rocket attack killed 12 children playing in a soccer field in northern Israel, marking the highest civilian death toll since October 7 and raising fears among US and European diplomats of an all-out war between Hezbollah and Israel.

The Houthis joined these efforts by launching missiles and UAVs at Israel, with one drone striking Tel Aviv after traveling roughly 1,730 miles from Sana’a. In Iraq, Iranian-backed militias, known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, claimed to have attacked a vital Israeli target in the Port of Eilat with several drones, stating they were supporting Hamas in Gaza.

US pressure for a ceasefire in the absence of any real measures to address Tehran and its proxies has been a prime policy objective, whereas this approach fails to offer a plan for preventing future Hamas violence if the group remains intact.

A day after Haniyeh’s death in Tehran, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said reaching a ceasefire in Gaza “is the enduring imperative,” without addressing the Islamic Republic’s evident role in the process. Similarly, Vice President Kamala Harris pressured Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to finalize a ceasefire deal during his trip to D.C., while also suggesting that Israel has the right to defend itself — but without mentioning the threats posed by Iran-backed groups other than Hamas.

These pushes for de-escalation between Hamas and Israel do not take into account other proxies that also target Israel, as Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iraqi militias could ramp up their attacks at Tehran’s behest. As pressure mounts from the US and the international community to reach a ceasefire, it is crucial to consider Iran’s role in ensuring the success or failure of an enduring agreement.

The Gaza conflict is but one front of a larger conflict involving various Iranian proxies. Any approach towards de-escalation must encompass the threats posed by other militia groups that are not bound by a Hamas ceasefire, and operate under Iran’s influence.

Janatan Sayeh is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Iranian domestic affairs and the Islamic Republic’s regional malign influence. 

The post Haniyeh’s Death in Tehran Shows Iranian Role in Hamas’ Warfare first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.

“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”

GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’

Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.

“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.

“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.

“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.

After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”

RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL

Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”

Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.

“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”

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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.

People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.

“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”

Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.

On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.

Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.

On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.

“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.

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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.

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