Hamas chief assassinated in Iran: As it happened

A US spy plane was spotted flying off the coasts of Syria, Lebanon and Israel for over four hours following Israel’s missile strike on Beirut and the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday.

The navigation data, documented by flight-tracking service FlightRadar24, was verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency, Sanad. Images showed an EP-3E Aries II Orion arriving on the Israeli coast from Chania airport on the Greek island of Crete.

The aircraft gathers tactical intelligence and makes it available to commanders almost instantly, Al Jazeera noted.

Iran’s acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, has sent a letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres warning that Tehran is “determined to take every necessary measure to defend its national security” following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a missile strike.

Bagheri called Haniyeh's killing an “act of terror” and “just another manifestation of Israel’s decades-long pattern of terrorism and sabotage targeting Palestinians and other supporters and sympathizers of the Palestinian cause.”

While Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel, West Jerusalem has neither confirmed nor denied carrying out the strike.

Top Iranian officials will meet representatives of Tehran’s regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Thursday, Reuters has reported. The group will discuss how to retaliate against Israel for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, five sources have told the outlet.

Representatives from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthis, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and some Iraqi resistance groups will attend, the sources said.

A “thorough assessment” will be made to “find the best and most effective way to retaliate against the Zionist regime (Israel),” a senior Iranian official with direct knowledge of the meeting said. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being involved in Haniyeh’s killing.

READ MORE: Iran will strike Israel – NYT

According to a New York Times report, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has given an order to “directly strike Israel” in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. The Times cited three unnamed Iranian officials that had been briefed on the directive.

Khamenei issued the order at an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday, soon after Haniyeh’s death was announced, the report said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has asked the Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, for his mediation services to avoid further escalation in the Middle East, CNN Arabic has reported, citing sources.

According to the network, Blinken asked Al Thani to convey a message to Iran and Hezbollah not to respond to the elimination of Hezbollah leader Fouad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. The Qatari leader reportedly agreed. 

The IDF has claimed to have killed Mohammed Deif, commander of the Hamas military wing, in a strike in southern Gaza. The official was targeted in an attack on July 13, but his death was not confirmed at the time, unlike the elimination of Rafa Salameh, leader of Hamas forces in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. 

Beijing hopes for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday in response to a question regarding the killing of Ismail Haniyeh.

“China earnestly looks forward to all Palestinian factions, on the basis of internal reconciliation, creating an independent Palestinian state as soon as possible,” Lin Jian said during a regular press briefing.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has appealed to “all parties” in the Middle East to avoid “escalatory actions” that could lead to an all-out war in the region.

“Right now, the path that the region is on is toward more conflict, more violence, more suffering, more insecurity. And it is crucial that we break the cycle. And that starts with a ceasefire,” Blinken said on Thursday, as assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was being laid to rest.

The funeral for assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is being held in Tehran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is leading the prayers, according to Iran’s state-run PressTV news network. Haniyeh’s funeral procession will be held from the University of Tehran towards the capital’s Azadi Square, news agency Mehr said.

Temporary flight restrictions have been imposed in Tehran ahead of the ceremony. Flight movements are being restricted within a 2-kilometer radius centered at the University of Tehran, and will be in place until 10:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. ET on Thursday), according to the notice issued by Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization.

Fu Cong, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations has said Beijing “firmly opposes and strongly condemns”, Haniyeh’s killing, calling it “a blatant attempt to sabotage peace efforts.”

Cong stressed that “China is deeply worried about an exacerbation of the upheaval in the region that this incident may trigger.”

“The Middle East situation is hanging by a thread, much to the concern of the international community,” he warned at the UN Security Council briefing.