Dead or Alive? What happened to Hamas targets on Benjamin Netanyahu’s hit list now that the terrorist group’s leader Ismail Haniyeh has been assassinated in an “Israeli” airstrike?

Iran’s Supreme Leader has vowed to impose “severe punishment” on Israel after the political leader of Hamas was assassinated in Tehran yesterday morning.

Ismail Haniyeh, 62, was killed by a guided missile “fired from Iran” in a 2am attack that threatens to escalate into an all-out regional war.

According to experts, he was the fourth victim on Israel’s “kill list” of Hamas leaders drawn up after October 7. Only two of them are still alive.

Hamas army chief Mohammed Deif, 58, was targeted in an attack on Khan Yunis last month, although his death has not yet been confirmed.

The 57-year-old deputy leader of the terror group Saleh Al-Arouri was killed by a drone in Beirut in January, while 59-year-old deputy military commander Marwan Issa was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in March last year.

Ismail Haniyeh, 62, was killed by a guided missile “fired from Iran” in a 2 a.m. attack that risks sparking an all-out regional war. Experts said he was the fourth hit on an Israeli “kill list” of Hamas leaders drawn up after Oct. 7, with only two still alive.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran after attending the inauguration of the country’s new president, Iran and the militant group said Wednesday morning.

Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, 61, is hiding in the area’s vast network of tunnels

Meanwhile, Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, 61, is hiding in the area’s vast network of tunnels, while 68-year-old Khaled Mashal, head of Hamas’s foreign policy office, remains alive in Doha, Qatar.

Yesterday’s strike, for which Israel is not responsible, is a disgrace to Tehran. The strike took place just after the inauguration of the new president.

Just 12 hours earlier, Israel assassinated Fuad Shukr, the military leader of Hezbollah and another Iranian ally, after 12 Israeli Druze children were killed in a rocket attack over the weekend.

The Middle East is already dangerously unstable due to the war in Gaza, where nearly 40,000 people have been killed. But now the situation threatens to escalate into a regional conflagration.

Israel was preparing last night for a multi-frontal response from Iran, which has vassals in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to avenge Haniyeh’s death, saying it was “Tehran’s duty.”

Hamas Foreign Policy Bureau Chief Khaled Mashal Is Still Alive in Doha, Qatar

Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif, 58, was targeted in an attack on Khan Yunis last month, although his death has not yet been confirmed. Pictured: Deif in 2001

Hours of Death: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meets with Ismail Haniyeh (L) before Israel’s deadly attack on the Hamas leader in Tehran, Iran, July 30, 2024

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh arrives at the Iranian parliament to attend the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, just hours before his death

The supreme leader of the Palestinian group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, attends the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, at the parliament in Tehran

Israeli forces seized the opportunity to hit Haniyeh and carried out a daring rocket attack on his Tehran residence just hours after the event, killing the Hamas leader and a security guard.

Haniyeh’s killing in Tehran came hours after Israel also attacked a senior Hezbollah official in Beirut

“With this action, the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime has paved the way for its own severe punishment,” the Supreme Leader said.

Haniyeh visited Tehran for the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian the day before his death and chanted along with the slogans: “Death to Israel, death to America.”

Mr Pezeshkian warned Israel that it would “regret this cowardly murder”.

Initially, it was reported that the Hamas political leader had been killed by a drone or an airstrike. But last night, local media claimed that his bedroom had been targeted by an Israeli-made short-range rocket fired from a nearby building.

Haniyeh was killed along with his bodyguard at the official guest house of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the Shahran district in the north of the capital.

Iranian media reported that the terror leader’s security team leaked information that led to his assassination.

The Iranian regime is reportedly shocked by the attack in the heart of its own territory. Tehran’s intelligence minister, Ismail Khatib, recently claimed that he “was [the Israeli secret service] “The Mossad infiltration network,” and called it a “turning point” for the ministry.

There are concerns that Iran could use proxies to target Israeli embassies abroad. In Britain, the Confidence in the safety of the community urged members of the Jewish community to “keep gates and doors closed at all times” and “avoid gatherings outside communal buildings and events.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not confirmed the attack. The Israeli military said it was conducting a “situation assessment,” but promised his country was “prepared for all scenarios.”

Israelis yesterday celebrated the death of one of their greatest enemies.

Amos Yadlin, former IDF intelligence chief, said that after Haniyeh’s death, there were only two top Hamas leaders left to kill.

“Israel is actually carrying out the revenge campaign that was launched during the Munich Olympics. It took about ten years to kill everyone involved in the Munich massacre of ’72,” he added.

A man watches the news on TV after Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting his home in the Iranian capital Tehran, Iran on July 31, 2024.

“We are now four of the six top executives who have already been punished for what they did on October 7.”

There are fears that the latest killing could derail hostage negotiations, which appeared to be on the way to a compromise.

Haniyeh, based in Doha, Qatar, was one of the key players in the November ceasefire and was closely involved in the negotiations.

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said: “How can mediation succeed if one side kills the negotiator on the other side?”

Major General Yadlin said the attack could “freeze negotiations” but that Hamas leaders might become aware that Israel could attack them next, which would “increase the chances.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US had “no knowledge of or involvement in” the attack and that “nothing diminishes the importance of a ceasefire”.