Hamas and Iranian state media said Wednesday that the 62-year-old had been killed in the Iranian capital Tehran. Hamas claimed Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli “strike” on his residence, while the Israeli military declined to comment when contacted by CNN. Haniyeh’s death strikes a significant blow to Hamas at a time when tensions are flaring across the Middle East over the devastating war in Gaza, and raises fraught questions about the future of negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Haniyeh was born in a refugee camp near Gaza City, and joined Hamas in the late 1980s during the First Intifada, or uprising. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (right) meets Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh (left) at the president's office in Tehran, Iran, on July 30, 2024.

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Persons: CNN — Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Masoud Pezeshkian, Ismail Haniyeh, ”, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, Donald Trump, – Haniyeh, Israel, “, Bashar Taleb, Benjamin Netanyahu, Barak Ravid, Wang Kejian Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Ministry of Health, Getty, CNN Political, International Criminal Locations: Israel, Gaza, Hamas, Tehran, Israeli, East, Gaza City, Askalan, Ashkelon, Iran, United States, Washington, Jerusalem, Deir el, Qatar, Egypt, Rome