Mousa Abu Marzook, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau, made a strong statement promising retaliation for the killing of Haniyeh. "The cowardly assassination of Haniyeh will not go unanswered," he declared.

Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were martyred early Wednesday morning after their residence in Tehran was targeted. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed the incident in a statement.

"With condolences to the heroic nation of Palestine and the Islamic nation and the combatants of the Resistance Front and the noble nation of Iran, this morning (Wednesday) the residence of Mr. Dr. Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political office of the Islamic Resistance of Hamas, was hit in Tehran, and following this incident, he and one of his bodyguards were martyred," the IRGC statement read.

Further investigations into the incident are currently underway. (ILKHA)