Maldives condemns Hamas chief Haniyeh’s assassination

The Maldivian government has condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the chief of Palestine resistance group Hamas’ political bureau.

Haniyeh, 62, and his bodyguard were killed in a strike on their accommodation in the Iranian capital, Tehran, early on Wednesday. Israel has yet to confirm or deny its involvement on the killing of Haniyeh, who was in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday.

In a statement on Thursday, the Maldivian Foreign Ministry condemned Haniyeh’s assassination.

The Maldivian government also called on all nations to uphold international law and international humanitarian law and work together towards finding an urgent and lasting solution to the Gaza crisis and ensuring peace and stability in the region.

Haniyeh was killed in Tehran in what the Palestinian group Hamas described as “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence”.

Israel has declined to comment on the Tehran strike, which came just hours after Israel targeted and killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a retaliatory strike on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, sending fears of a wider regional war soaring.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the strikes in Tehran and Beirut represented a “dangerous escalation”.

All efforts, he said, should be “leading to a ceasefire” in Gaza and the release of captives taken during the Hamas-led October 7 attack on southern Israel.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health says at least 39,445 people have been killed and 91,073 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza, now in its 10th month. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks and more than 200 were taken captive.