Who is Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas political leader killed in Iran?

Ismail Haniyeh, a top Hamas leader, was killed in an airstrike in the Iranian capital Tehran early Wednesday.

Hamas said Haniyeh, 62,was killed at his residence in Tehran in an Israeli airstrike after he attended the swearing-in ceremony of Iran's new president. Israel has not commented on the accusation.

Here's a look at Haniyeh, his role in the region and his connection tothe Oct. 7 attacks.

Who was he?

Michael Milshtein, a Hamas expert at Tel Aviv University, said Haniyeh had a commanding role in the group's foreign policy and diplomacy, but was less involved in military affairs.

"He was responsible for propaganda, for diplomatic relations, but he was not very powerful," said Milshtein, a former military intelligence officer. "From time to time, [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar even laughed and joked: 'He's the more moderate, sophisticated leader, but he doesn't understand anything about warfare.'"

Haniyeh was deeply religious and studied Arabic literature at university. He was known for delivering lengthy speeches using flowery language to his supporters while serving as prime minister in Gaza.

Haniyeh lived in self-imposed exile in Qatar since 2019 andvisited Turkey and Iran throughout the war.

From Doha, he was involved in negotiations meant to bring about a ceasefire and free the hostages.

His role in Hamas's leadership had previously cost him his closest relatives. In April, an Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed three of Haniyeh's sons, after which he accused Israel of acting in "the spirit of revenge and murder." Hamas said four of the leader's grandchildren were also killed as well as his sister in a separate strike last month.

Where did he come from?

Haniyeh, who was born in Gaza's urban Shati refugee camp, joined Hamas when it was founded in 1987. He served as an aide to Ahmad Yassin, the group's founder, and rose throughout the years until he became its top political leader, replacing Khaled Mashaal in 2017.

Haniyeh, like thousands of other Palestinians, was detained by Israeli authorities in 1989 for being a member of Hamas and spent three years in jail before he was deported to Lebanon in 1992 with a group of top Hamas officials and founders.

He later returned to the Gaza Strip following the 1993 interim peace accords, which were signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. Haniyeh assumed the position of prime minister in the Palestinian government after Hamas won legislative elections in 2006.

He presided over the gravest crisis in the Palestinian leadership in its history, which continues until today. Hamas violently overran Gaza in 2007, routing forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction and consolidating its rule, with Haniyeh as prime minister.

What was his role in the Oct. 7 attacks?

While Sinwar is believed to have been the mastermind of the attacks, Haniyeh lauded them as a humiliating blow to Israel's aura of invincibility.

"The Al-Aqsa flood was an earthquake that struck the heart of the Zionist entity and has made major changes at the world level," Haniyeh said in a speech in Iran during the funeral of late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in May.

"We will continue the resistance against this enemy until we liberate our land, all our land," Haniyeh said.

WATCH | U.S. secretary of statesays Israel-Hamas ceasefire 'imperative':

Blinken says Israel-Hamas ceasefire 'imperative'

1 month ago

Duration 0:59

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking in Singapore after reports of the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, says the U.S. will continue to work toward a ceasefire in Gaza.Hours after the Oct. 7 attacks, Haniyeh appeared in a video released by Hamas leading prayers with other top Hamas officials. They thanked God for the success of the attack, which blasted through Israel's vaunted defences and resulted in the deadliest assault in Israel's history.

Hamas led the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel in which the Palestinian militant group killed 1,200 people, including several Canadians, and took some 250 others hostage, according to Israeli government tallies.

Haniyeh was under the eye of the International Criminal Court, whose chief prosecutor sought arrest warrants against him and two other Hamas leaders, Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Similar requests were issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

In Israel's war against Hamas since the October attack, more than 39,360 Palestinians have been killed and more than 90,900 wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, whose count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.