Hamas Leader Laid to Rest in Qatar Amid Calls for Retaliation Against “Israel”

By Staff, Agencies

Ismail Haniyeh, the martyred head of the Hamas Political Bureau, was laid to rest in Doha, Qatar, in a solemn ceremony attended by distinguished officials from across the region.

Haniyeh’s body, draped in Palestinian flags, was interred at the royal cemetery in Lusail, north of Doha.

The ceremony was graced by Iran’s Vice President Mohammad-Reza Aref and Acting Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri Kani, alongside other dignitaries and representatives from Palestinian factions.

Prior to the burial, thousands of mourners, including official representatives from various nations, gathered for a funeral prayer at Doha’s largest mosque, the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque, under tight security.

Commemorative prayers and demonstrations took place in Gaza, the West Bank and several other countries, including Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Yemen, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Leaders such as Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid their respects in absentia, while Pakistan and Turkey have both declared national days of mourning.

Iran has also observed three days of mourning in honor of Haniyeh.

Hamas has called for a day of outrage in response to Haniyeh’s assassination, urging people to organize marches from every mosque to denounce the “cowardly crime.”

Haniyeh’s body was flown to Doha following a mass procession in central Tehran, where Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei led the funeral prayers.

Haniyeh was in Tehran for the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian when he and his bodyguard were assassinated in an “Israeli” attack on his residence.

Imam Khamenei warned the “Israeli” entity of a "harsh response" for the assassination, declaring that the Islamic Republic is committed to avenging the blood of the Palestinian resistance leader.

“The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime has martyred our esteemed guest in our land and left us bereaved, but it has also paved the way for its own severe retribution,” Imam Khamenei stated.

Haniyeh, who led the Hamas Political Bureau from 2017 to 2024, had been residing in Doha for several years.