Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's funeral held in Doha; Iran vows retaliation

Tel Aviv [Israel], August 2 (ANI): Hundreds of people gathered at a mosque in Qatar on Friday for the funeral of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was eliminated in Iran, reported The Times of Israel.
The mourners lined up to offer funeral prayers inside Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque, the Gulf emirate's largest, while, others prayed on mats outside in temperatures that reached 44 degrees Celsius.
He will be buried in a cemetery in the city of Lusail, north of Doha.
Mourners included Khaled Meshaal, who is tipped as a possible successor to be the new Hamas leader, reported The Times of Israel.
Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of the assassination. Israel, which is at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has neither acknowledged nor denied killing Haniyeh.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led a public funeral ceremony for Haniyeh in Tehran on Thursday, before the coffin was transported to Doha, and threatened "harsh punishment" for Haniyeh's killing.
Earlier on Wednesday, he also ordered Iran to strike Israel directly, in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the New York Times reported.
Khamenei gave the order at an emergency meeting of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan were also among the officials due at the funeral.
The killing of Qatar-based Haniyeh has triggered more regional tensions soaring during the Israel-Hamas war which has drawn in Iran-backed terror groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen, as reported by The Times of Israel.
Moreover, Turkey and Pakistan also announced a day of mourning on Friday to honour Haniyeh, while Hamas called for a "day of furious rage."
Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed in a pre-dawn "hit" on their accommodation in Tehran early on Wednesday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said. Haniyeh was in Iran to attend the swearing-in of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian a day earlier.
The war erupted after Hamas's October 7 massacre in southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages to Gaza, Israel launched a military operation in response aiming to eliminate the terror group and return of hostages.
In the aftermath of the Turkish flag lowered at half-mast at the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv in response to the elimination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz has said that he has instructed the Foreign Ministry officials to summon the Deputy Turkish Ambassador to Israel for a severe reprimand.
He said that Israel will not tolerate the expressions of mourning for a "murderer" like Ismail Haniyeh at any cost. (ANI)