What Biden said about Ismail Haniya’s murder
Last Updated on August 3, 2024 8:39 am
US President Joe Biden has commented that the death of the top leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, will not help the ongoing ceasefire dialogue in Gaza. He made this comment in response to reporters’ questions at a press conference at the White House on Thursday.
At the briefing, reporters asked him whether the recent killing of Ismail Haniya would be helpful in advancing the cease-fire dialogue in Gaza; Biden replied, “No, that would not be helpful.” I had a telephone conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu this morning (Thursday). I told him this too.
Ismail Haniyeh, the top leader of Hamas and the head of the political wing, went to Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of the new president of Iran, Massoud Pezeshkian. Haniya was killed along with one of his bodyguards at the residence in Tehran where he was staying.
So far no one has claimed responsibility for the murder, but almost everyone is sure that the Israeli intelligence agency is directly involved in the murder.
About 1,000 fighters of Hamas and its allied group Palestinian Islamic Jihad launched an ambush on the territory of Israel on October 7. They fired indiscriminately and killed 1,200 Palestinians and took 240 hostages in Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched an operation in Gaza that day to respond to the surprise attack and rescue the hostages, which is still ongoing. About 40,000 Palestinians have been killed so far in the operation, and another 100,000 have been injured. In addition, the entire Gaza Strip has been turned into ruins by Israeli forces.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been mediating between the Israeli government and Hamas since the beginning of the war. Israel and Hamas agreed to a one-week temporary truce last November. Since the beginning of this year, the United States, Egypt and Qatar have been working for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Source: Reuters