Slain Hamas leader Haniyeh’s funeral held in Qatar as worries of regional war mount

Mourners pay respects to slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as regional tensions escalate, sparking international concern.

Mourners gathered in Doha on August 2 to hold funeral prayers for slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as Iran and its regional allies vowed to retaliate against Israel.

With the bodies of Haniyeh and his bodyguard in coffins draped with Palestinian flags, men knelt and prayed while senior leaders of Hamas' Qatar-based political office paid their respects to Haniyeh's family.

That included two men seen as his possible successors: Khalil Al-Hayya, a Hamas senior official and the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and former Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal, a close Haniyeh aide.

Al-Hayya told family members that Haniyeh was “no better or dearer” than the children killed in Gaza. Some 39,480 Palestinians have been killed throughout the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

“We are sure that his blood will bring out victory, dignity and liberation," he said.

The funeral came a day after Israel said it had confirmed that the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in a July 13 airstrike in Gaza, and a few days after Israel said it had killed Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in a strike in Lebanon.

Hamas has yet to comment and had previously claimed Deif survived last month's targeted airstrike.