A history of conflict with Israel: The life and death of Ismail Haniyeh

Report by Ahmad Abdallah, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

From imprisonment and multiple assassination attempts to the killings of family members and his own assassination, the feud between Israel and Ismail Haniyeh is long-standing and fraught with violence. 

This deadly conflict culminated in Haniyeh's assassination in the heart of Tehran, marking a significant blow to Hamas.

Haniyeh's fight with Israel began in his youth when he was arrested in the early 1990s and detained for several years. Upon his release, he managed the office of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas. 

During this period, Haniyeh witnessed the failed assassination attempt on Yassin in 2003, where he sustained minor injuries. After Yassin's assassination by Israel in 2004, Haniyeh's responsibilities within Hamas grew substantially.

Haniyeh's political triumph came in 2006 when he led Hamas to a sweeping victory in the Palestinian legislative elections, allowing him to assume the role of Prime Minister. His tenure was marked by significant challenges, including the Palestinian internal division and the Israeli siege on Gaza. 

The internal division led to intense clashes between Hamas and Fatah, with Haniyeh's convoy being targeted in October 2006 in what was deemed an assassination attempt in Gaza. Haniyeh survived unscathed. 

Less than two months later, on December 15, 2006, another assassination attempt on his convoy resulted in the death of one of his guards and injuries to five others, including his son Abdel Salam and political advisor Ahmed Youssef.

Israel did not attempt to assassinate Haniyeh for eight years until the outbreak of the "Protective Edge" operation in 2014. 

On June 28, 2014, Israeli airstrikes demolished Haniyeh's home in the Shati refugee camp, though he miraculously survived. 

Haniyeh continued his leadership within Hamas, eventually being elected as the head of the political bureau in 2017. He remained in Gaza until late 2019 when he embarked on a tour of several countries and did not return due to the ongoing siege and security pressures. 

This move was part of a broader strategy to strengthen Hamas' international presence and ensure his safety, allowing him to continue political and diplomatic efforts more effectively. Despite aligning against the Syrian regime and Hezbollah during the Syrian war, Haniyeh successfully navigated the political landscape.

Since the start of the Al-Aqsa Flood War, Tel Aviv has relentlessly targeted Haniyeh's associates in Gaza while he remained in Doha. These targeted killings have resulted in the deaths of 60 members of his family. 

Since the start of the war, an Israeli attack killed 14 relatives of Haniyeh in a single strike. 

On April 10, six more family members, including three of his sons and several grandchildren, were killed in an airstrike on their vehicle in the Shati refugee camp during Eid al-Fitr celebrations. Two months later, on June 24, another Israeli attack killed ten more family members in their home in Shati camp. 

Haniyeh commented on the incident, emphasizing that his family members were martyrs like all Palestinians.

The targeting of Haniyeh's family has been a severe pressure tactic, but assassination attempts on him have been a recurring theme. His assassination marks a profound loss for Hamas, stripping the organization of one of its most influential leaders on both the internal and international political stages.