Who is Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran?

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an attack at his residence in the Iranian capital, Tehran. After Haniyeh's death, everyone started investigating his life, and we have compiled important details about the life of the Palestinian politician who lost 3 sons and 4 grandchildren in the Israeli attack on April 10.

So who is Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader killed in Tehran? When was he elected as the Head of Hamas Political Bureau? Here are the details of the life of the person everyone is curious about...

3 SONS AND 4 GRANDCHILDREN WERE KILLED

The Israeli army targeted the vehicle carrying Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh's family members and relatives who were going to celebrate the Ramadan holiday in the Esh-Shati Refugee Camp in the west of Gaza on April 10. Haniyeh, who lost 3 sons and 4 grandchildren in the attack, said that "his children did not leave Gaza and sacrificed their lives for the liberation of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque."

Haniyeh's granddaughter Melek Haniyeh, who was injured in the attack during the Ramadan holiday by the Israeli army, also lost her life while receiving treatment in the hospital. According to the Israeli press, the "assassination of Haniyeh's sons was carried out with the cooperation of the Israeli army and intelligence." Haniyeh was elected as the Head of Hamas Political Bureau on May 6, 2017, replacing Khalid Mashal.

WHO IS ISMAIL HANIYEH?

Palestinian politician Ismail Haniyeh, the former Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, was born in the El-Shati refugee camp in the Gaza Strip in 1963. His family became refugees when they fled from the city of Ashkelon during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza in 1987. He was arrested in 1989 on charges of participating in the First Intifada and being a member of Hamas. After being released in 1992, he joined a group of 415 other Islamic Jihad and Hamas members and was deported to South Lebanon by Israel. He returned to Gaza the following year.

From 1999 to 2004, he served as the private secretary to Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. In the Palestinian Legislative Council elections held in December 2005 and repeated on January 25, 2006, he was at the top of the list due to the exile of Hamas leader Khalid Mashal in Damascus. Following the election in which Hamas won 74 out of 132 seats, Haniyeh was announced as the candidate for prime minister on February 16, 2006. Despite the opposition of the United States and Israel, he was appointed as the prime minister by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on February 19. In October 2006, he survived an attack on his convoy during clashes between Fatah and Hamas members in Gaza. In May 2007, he survived a missile attack on his house by Israel. In June 2007, following the escalation of clashes between Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip, he was dismissed from his position by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Haniyeh is married and has 13 children. In 2009, the family was living in the El-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip. Haniyeh's siblings Kholidia, Laila, and Sabah are Israeli citizens and live in Tel as-Sabi in southern Israel. Kholidia moved to Tel as-Sabi first, followed by her two sisters. Some of the children of the three sisters have served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Haniyeh's sister Suhila Abd el-Salam Ahmed Haniyeh and her husband, who required critical heart treatment, accepted an urgent treatment request that could not be provided in hospitals in Gaza. After a successful treatment, the couple returned to Gaza after receiving treatment at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel. Haniyeh's grandson received treatment at an Israeli hospital in November 2013, and his mother-in-law received treatment at an Israeli hospital in June 2014. After the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, Haniyeh's daughter spent a week in an Israeli hospital in Tel Aviv for emergency treatment after complications during a routine procedure. In September 2016, Haniyeh left Gaza with his wife and two sons for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. This trip was interpreted as the beginning of a campaign and strengthened reports that Haniyeh would succeed Mashal. He also attended the funeral of Qasem Soleimani in Tehran, Iran in 2020.