This event creates an "extremely serious risk" of escalation, which, in particular, could affect the Russo-Ukrainian war, political analyst Oleksiy Koshel told Radio NV on July 31.
"The details also play an important role here, because one of the Hamas leaders actually came to the inauguration, he was there, and now the media are massively spreading photos of his presence," said Koshel.
“After that, he was simply killed. Now they are actively writing about the Israeli trace, about Israeli militants, and everything else. Therefore, this is an extraordinary event and it can have a serious impact, in particular, on the escalation in the Middle East.”
He noted how this could affect the war in Ukraine:
"We are also looking from our side. We are interested only in pragmatic considerations. For us, any escalation will, of course, be a disadvantage, because it is a distraction from the issue of the war in Ukraine. And quite naturally, this will not be the best news for us."
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported on July 31 that the leader of the Palestinian group Hamas, Haniyeh, had been killed in his residence in Tehran.
Hamas later confirmed the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh. In particular, Mousa Abu Marzook, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau, called Haniyeh’s murder a "despicable act" and said that it "will not go unpunished." Hamas blames Israel for the murder. The Israeli side has not yet commented on Haniyeh’s death.
Ismail Haniyeh was a Palestinian politician and one of the leaders of the Islamist movement Hamas. From March 29, 2006 to June 2, 2014, he was the Prime Minister of the Palestinian State. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization in the European Union and the United States, and Haniyeh himself was designated a terrorist by the United States in 2018.