Protesters across cities from Pakistan to Lebanon are condemning the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
ADVERTISEMENTHundreds of Palestinian demonstrators marched through Ramallah in the occupied West Bank hours after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed on Wednesday. They carried dozens of green Hamas flags and chanted, "the people want al-Qassem Brigade," which is a reference to the militant group’s military wing.
Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran after attending the inauguration of the country’s new president, Tehran and the militant group said early Wednesday. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assassination but suspicion quickly fell on Israel, which has vowed to kill Haniyeh and other leaders of Hamas over the group’s October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
The public demonstration was followed by a similar event outside the University of Tehran in Iran's capital, where hundreds of hard-line government supporters condemned the predawn killing and chanted "death to Israel" and "death to America".
Meanwhile, people from the Palestinian refugee camp al-Bass in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre took to the streets chanting support for Hamas. They carried images of Haniyeh and of Hamas spiritual leader Ahmed Yassin, who was killed in an Israeli helicopter strike while being pushed in his wheelchair in 2004.
Jihad Taha, a spokesperson for Hamas, addressed the heavily donned keffiyeh crowd at the protest, saying "the Zionist occupation" will not be able to break the "will" of the Palestinian people. "We are certain today that the language of treachery and betrayal that the Zionist occupation is adopting will end in failure," he said.
"Just like its goals (have failed) in the ongoing aggression that has been taking place on the Gaza Strip for more than 10 months."
Further east, two protests were organised in Pakistan's capital of Karachi. At an event organised by religious political party Jamaat e Islami, hundreds of protesters carried posters depicting Haniyeh while others chanted "Muslims will win".
“The Palestinians’ struggle will be boosted because their movement does not depend on a few,” said Munim Zafar, chief of Jamaat e Islami in Karachi.
The Palestine Foundation Pakistan organised a separate protest, at which a mass prayer for Haniyeh was followed by chants of “the war will end with Israel’s destruction".
The strike comes as international mediators are working to bring Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire that would wind down the devastating war in Gaza and free hostages. Intense diplomatic efforts are also underway to ease tensions between Israel and Hamas after months of cross-border fighting.