On July 31st, Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s top political leader, was killed in Iran. Haniyeh came to the capital city of Tehran for the presidential inauguration; an explosive device went off in the guest house where he was staying. Just hours before, Haniyeh had met with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel hasn’t taken responsibility for the attack, but they’re widely believed to be responsible—especially given their history of targeted political assassinations. Indeed, Haniyeh’s killing followed Israel assassination of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Lebanon one day earlier. 

Haniyeh was killed in the middle of ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel. With the death toll in Gaza nearing 40,000, and the family members of Israeli hostages desperately calling for a prisoner exchange, the pressure to come to an agreement has been mounting. But Haniyeh was a chief negotiator in those talks, and now, the chances of arriving at a deal seem further than ever.

Meanwhile, Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel for the attack on their soil. As of Thursday, August 8th, that hasn’t happened yet, but many now fear that tensions could lead to a wider regional war. 

In this collaboration between Unsettled Podcast and On the Nose, Unsettled producer Ilana Levinson interviews Tareq Baconi, author of Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance, to make sense of these developments and what Haniyeh’s assassination means for the future of the region.

This episode was produced by Ilana Levinson with Emily Bell. Music in this episode from Blue Dot Sessions. Thanks to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”

Further Reading:

“Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance,” Tareq Baconi

“Hamas: Gaza (Ep 3),” Unsettled Podcast

“Tareq Baconi: ‘There’s no going back,’” Unsettled Podcast

“Regional War: An Explainer,” Alex Kane and Jonathan Shamir, Jewish Currents