Palestinians in Gaza display resilience following Hamas leader's assassination

As the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh raises concerns about ceasefire negotiations, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have nonetheless expressed resilience and said they expect new leaders to emerge.

Early Wednesday morning, Haniyeh's residence in Tehran was hit in an airstrike after he attended the inauguration of Iran's new president, resulting in the death of the high-ranking Hamas official and a bodyguard.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps of Iran says Haniyeh was killed by an "air-launched guided projectile" that struck the building. The attack happened just hours after Israel's strike on Beirut, which killed Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr.

Shafiq Daher, a resident in Gaza, described Haniyeh's assassination as a significant loss and said he expects a reaction from regional players.

"It's an irreparable loss, there will not be as humble a leader as Ismail Haniyeh. Secondly, I believe his killing will have a strong impact on the negotiations. We hope that there will be a strong response to his assassination, whether from Iran, Hezbollah or even from Gaza," he said.

Abu Odeh, another resident, highlighted the resilience of the Palestinian cause, insisting that new leaders always emerge.

"The Palestinian issue is always a birth of new leaders, whether Ismail Haniyeh or someone else was killed. During the past years they have assassinated many leaders in most of the resistance movements, not just Hamas, and despite that, new leaders were born. This is the characteristic of the Palestinian cause and the characteristic of the people of Gaza who live with that," Odeh said.

Palestinians in Gaza display resilience following Hamas leader's assassination

U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve announced a 0.5-percentage-point interest rate cut.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 103.08 points, or 0.25 percent, to 41,503.1. The Standard and Poor's 500 sank 16.32 points, or 0.29 percent, to 5,618.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 54.76 points, or 0.31 percent, to 17,573.3.

Nine of the 11 primary Standard and Poor's 500 sectors ended in red, with utilities and technology leading the laggards by losing 0.77 percent and 0.51 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy and communication services led the gainers by rising 0.25 percent and 0.02 percent, respectively.

The U.S. Fed cut interest rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday, bringing the benchmark rate to a range of 4.75 percent to 5 percent, the first rate cut in four years.

In its policy statement, the Fed said that the decision reflected "greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably towards two percent" and that the central bank "judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance."

Following the cut on Wednesday, U.S. stocks experienced volatile trading, swinging between gains and losses throughout the session.

US stocks close lower on Wednesday following Fed rate cut