Joe Biden has said the killing of Ismail Haniyeh “does not help” ceasefire negotiations after the top Hamas leader “was wiped out by an Israeli strike.”
Haniyeh was killed on Wednesday during a visit to Tehran, the capital of Iran, after an explosive device detonated in a heavily guarded guest house where he was staying for the presidential inauguration.
Iran and its allies have pointed the finger at Israel, but the country has yet to claim any responsibility for the senior official’s death.
Biden said he was “very concerned” about rising tensions in the Middle East, adding: “We have the basis for a ceasefire. He [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] must continue and they [Hamas] “I have to get on with it now.”
The president’s comments were the first on Haniyeh’s killing since the terror group leader was killed.
US President Joe Biden has said the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh “does not help” negotiations over a possible ceasefire in Gaza
Haniyeh was killed on Wednesday with an explosive device that was reportedly smuggled into a Tehran guest house two months ago
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, pictured in Iran on Tuesday, hours before his death
“It doesn’t help,” Biden told reporters Thursday night, when asked whether Haniyeh’s killing ruined the chance for a ceasefire.
Biden also said he had a direct conversation with Netanyahu earlier on Thursday.
“The President discussed efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats including ballistic missiles and drones, including new defensive U.S. military deployments,” the White House said in a statement.
Biden reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including the “proxy terrorist groups” Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
Biden stressed the importance of continued efforts to reduce broader tensions in the region, underscoring Washington’s commitment to Israel’s defense.
Tensions between Israel, Iran and Hezbollah have fueled fears of a wider conflict in a region already reeling from Israel’s assault on Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of people and created a humanitarian crisis.
On Thursday it was reported that the bomb used to kill Haniyeh was smuggled into the guesthouse two months before his murder.
The bomb was said to have been secretly placed in the building despite the complex being protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, sources told the New York Times.
A bodyguard was also killed in the explosion, which Iranian officials and Hamas said was caused by Israel on Wednesday.
After Haniyeh was killed, it was assumed that he had died from a missile strike. However, it is now being reported that Iranian defenses were inadequate, allowing the assassins to secretly plant the bomb and hide it for several weeks before detonating it.
The bomb was detonated after Haniyeh (pictured) was found in his room
Displaced Palestinians are leaving western Khan Yunis for areas in the eastern parts of the city, following reports of Israeli troops withdrawing from the area on July 30.
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, seen from Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on July 29
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in Israeli airstrikes on the eastern areas of Khan Yunis, at Nasser Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza on July 28
But questions about how such a catastrophic breach of security could have occurred remain unanswered. Middle Eastern officials admit that carrying out such an attack would have taken months of oversight and planning.
Although Iran has vowed revenge for Haniyeh’s death, his killing is not expected to lead to a dramatic escalation of the regional conflict.
“This is a godsend,” Dr Andreas Krieg, senior lecturer in Security Studies at King’s College London, told MailOnline.
‘Netanyahu can say that this is the end of the organization. And that is about the closest Israel will ever come to defeating Hamas.
“But that can only work if Israel says now, ‘We are prepared to start ceasefire negotiations.’”
‘All parties do not want an all-out war. All parties want to keep their reputations high. No one wants to lose face. These people are replaceable.
‘All parties will find a way to respond to this tit-for-tat escalation in an appropriate manner, beyond a certain ceiling… all parties have pushed the boundaries, but they have always tried not to cross them.’
Haniyeh’s killing came amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
On Saturday, twelve children and young people were killed in an attack on a football field in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israel blamed the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon and announced “serious” retaliation, although Hezbollah denies any involvement.
On Tuesday, hours before Haniyeh’s killing, Israel killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, who Israel says was behind the Golan Heights attack, in a targeted airstrike in Beirut.
The latest bloodbath in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out on October 7, when the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli counts.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israel has killed some 39,480 Palestinians and wounded more than 91,100 others in the 10-month campaign of bombardments and offensives in Gaza. The count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
More than 80% of the 2.3 million inhabitants have been displaced from their homes, with the vast majority living in tent camps in the southwestern corner of the area, with limited food and water supplies.