Mournful Iranians bid final farewell to slain Hamas political chief, vow revenge

Mournful people from different walks of life in the Iranian capital Tehran on Thursday held a funeral procession for Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in an alleged Israeli attack a day before.

The ceremony officially began at 08:00 local time (0430 GMT) at the University of Tehran, where Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei led the funeral prayers for the Hamas political chief and his security guard, who was also killed in the same attack.

The funeral prayers were attended by many top Iranian commanders and officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, as well as a large number of mourners.

During the procession, a huge number of Iranians, including top officials and military commanders, accompanied the Hamas political leader's body from the University of Tehran to the iconic Azadi square in central Tehran, while chanting slogans in condemnation of Israel and the United States, holding pictures of Haniyeh and late General Qassem Soleimani, the top Iranian commander who was killed in an attack by the United States in Iraq in January 2020, and waving Iranian and Palestinian flags.

"It's absolutely wrong. They assassinated our dear guest in our own country," said Reyhaneh, a resident in Tehran.

"I demand the most severe and crushing response to this attack. A response that will prevent them from violating our territory again," said Fatemeh, a Tehran resident.

"Israel martyred our guest in our house. Israel should definitely expect a new operation from Iran," said Abolfazl, another Tehran resident.

At the end of the ceremony, which lasted four hours, the Iranians bade a final farewell to the Hamas political leader before the transfer of his body to the Qatari capital city of Doha to be laid to rest.

While a number of countries have strongly condemned the violation of Iranian airspace and blamed Israel for an act of terror, there are serious concerns that ceasefire negotiations to end Israel's war in Gaza are more fragile than ever. The world's eyes are closely monitoring events in Palestine and the wider region, as tensions also escalate between Israel and Lebanese group Hezbollah, and fears mount over Iran's expected retaliation.

Analysts believe the next steps taken by various resistance groups across the Middle East could play a crucial role in determining not only the future of Palestine, but the region as a whole.

Haniyeh, who had been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Iranian president on Tuesday, was killed along with his bodyguard early Wednesday when their residence in Tehran was hit.

Iran accused Israel of carrying out the assassination while Israel has yet to confirm its involvement.

Mournful Iranians bid final farewell to slain Hamas political chief, vow revenge

Mournful Iranians bid final farewell to slain Hamas political chief, vow revenge

Mournful Iranians bid final farewell to slain Hamas political chief, vow revenge

Mournful Iranians bid final farewell to slain Hamas political chief, vow revenge

Permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations (UN) Danny Danon on Thursday denied that any discussions had occurred between Israel and the UN regarding delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Danon made these remarks at the UN headquarters in response to a query from a China Central Television (CCTV) reporter about the ongoing failure to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Israel blocked the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza on March 2, following the end of the first phase of a January ceasefire deal with Hamas. It resumed attacks on Gaza on March 18.

With no food, no supplies, and no relief in sight, Gazans have been enduring a relentless fight for survival.

In response to mounting international condemnation, Israel has proposed that its military take over the distribution of aid - a move widely criticized by the international community.

Briefing a Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher noted that the UN has met for over 12 times with the Israeli authorities regarding the latter's proposed aid distribution model, yet no solution had been found.

Danon, however, stated that no discussions have taken place in recent weeks regarding the issue.

"I don't know about that. Actually I listened to Mr. Fletcher's remarks at the Security Council the other day, and I can tell you that he visited Israel but he had no discussion about that fund because it was way back and in the last few weeks there was no dialogue about that. I would expect UN officials to engage when they want to speak about issues they know how to reach us, they know how to reach the U.S. mission. We are here to engage," he said.

"They got some information from the media, I assume. But I think they should look into that and to realize that if they want to be involved, that is the way to be involved," he added, reiterating that the UN has not reached out.

In response to Danon's denial, the United Nations reaffirmed its position, standing by the public statement released by Fletcher.

"I heard what he said, and we stand by what Mr. Fletcher has said," Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for UN Secretary-General noted later on the day, commenting on Danon's statement.

"Mr. Fletcher gave the details," he continued.

Israel envoy denies discussions with UN on enabling Gaza aid deliveries