WASHINGTON – U.S. President Joe Biden stated on Thursday that the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, a leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, is detrimental to efforts for achieving a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza.
The death of Haniyeh in Iran has heightened the risk of escalating the conflict into a broader Middle East war, with threats of retaliation against Israel following the assassination. Hamas and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed Haniyeh’s death, noting his involvement in internationally-brokered indirect talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza.
Residents in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip expressed concern that Haniyeh’s killing on Wednesday would extend the duration of the conflict. Iran reported that the assassination occurred just hours after Haniyeh attended the inauguration ceremony for its new president.
“It doesn’t help,” Biden told reporters late on Thursday when asked if the assassination of Haniyeh hindered the prospects for a ceasefire agreement. Biden also mentioned having a direct conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier that day.
While Netanyahu’s government has not claimed responsibility for the assassination, Netanyahu stated that Israel had recently dealt significant blows to Iran’s proxies, including Hamas and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, and would respond forcefully to any attack.
The escalating tensions between Israel, Iran, and Hezbollah have raised concerns about a broader conflict in a region already on edge due to Israel’s assault on Gaza, which has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and a severe humanitarian crisis.
The latest violence in the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict began on October 7, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
The Gaza health ministry reports that nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military assault on the Hamas-governed enclave since then, displacing almost the entire population of 2.3 million, creating a hunger crisis, and leading to accusations of genocide, which Israel denies. The United States has stated it was not involved in Haniyeh’s killing.