Hebrew Channel 12 published new details of the “Israeli” clandestine operation to assassinate the head of Hamas’ Political Bureau Ismail Haniyeh in an explosive device planted under his bed in his room in Tehran on July 31.

 

Before carrying out the operation, the report said the “Israeli” decision to kill Haniyeh came after Hamas’ “Operation Aqsa Typhoon” on Oct. 7. Senior intelligence officials wrote up a list of Hamas officials to assassinate, with Haniyeh among them.

 

“Israeli” intelligence then listed Qatar, Turkey, Russia, and Iran as possible places to carry out the operation. However, due to fears of breaking down prisoner negotiation by assassinating Haniyeh in Qatar, and to not anger Russia and Turkey, it was then decided to kill him in Tehran.

 

Haniyeh frequented a guesthouse for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), at a luxurious neighbourhood in north Tehran.

 

He was guarded by top security team of the IRGC, which required either Iranian citizens, IRGC members, or Hamas officials to be involved in placing the explosive device under Haniyeh’s bed – an operation which was deemed too complex to be solely carried out by “Israeli” agents, according to security analysts who spoke to Channel 12.

 

Haniyeh was assassinated on July 31, one day after the inauguration of Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian.

 

The initial plan was to kill him at the funeral of former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on May 19.

 

“Israel” then delayed the operation until after Pezeshkian’ inauguration, to avoid further embarrassment to Iran – according to the report.