Only path to Middle East peace is through talks
- Assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh only adds to the potential for a wider conflict and undermines efforts by China to broker a ceasefire
The ink was barely dry on the Beijing declaration in which 14 Palestinian rival factions agreed late last month to a unified approach to deliver an interim government once Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza had ended.
Less than a week later, reports emerged that Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh had been assassinated while in Iran.
Instead of further shuttle diplomacy and pursuing talks towards a ceasefire, the crisis has sadly headed into an alarming spiral of escalation.
The assassination, confirmed by Hamas and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, has sparked threats of revenge on Israel, which has yet to publicly claim responsibility, even as it wages its campaign in Gaza.
The attack came a day after Israel claimed to have killed Hezbollah’s top military commander, Fuad Shukur, in an air strike in Beirut, in response to an attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
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World reacts to air strikes killing Hamas leader in Iran and Hezbollah commander in Beirut
The Iran-aligned “Axis of Resistance”, including groups from Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria, is preparing a response to Haniyeh’s killing. Iran said it expected Lebanon’s Hezbollah to strike deep into Israeli territory and no longer confine its attacks to military targets.
