Crowds gathered in Doha to bury the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, assassinated in Tehran this week, as the US president, Joe Biden, said the killing had “not helped” efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and warned he was concerned about escalating regional conflict.
Iran has vowed revenge for the humiliating attack in the heart of its capital, which came just hours after Israel killed the top military commander of Hezbollah in an airstrike on Beirut.
Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said the killings had pushed its conflict with Israel into “a new phase”, at the funeral on Thursday of Fuad Shukr, who had been second-in-command of the group. The response would be a “real, studied” strike, not a symbolic attack, he added.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the country was “in a state of very high readiness for any scenario”. The government had given ministers satellite phones in case Iran’s retaliation takes down communications, Israeli media reported.
Air India on Friday joined a growing list of carriers – from Lufthansa to Delta – that have cancelled flights to Israel, and France urged its citizens to leave Iran.
Cyprus said it had expanded plans to support a large-scale evacuation from the region if the war expands. The island nation helped tens of thousands of people leave during the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Haniyeh’s funeral in Qatar came the day after a prayer ceremony in Tehran for the Hamas leader, who was the group’s chief negotiator in efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza. His assassination prompted many in the region to question if Israel had any real interest in seeking a truce.
Biden, who has pushed hard for a ceasefire in recent months, said the killing was “not helpful”, in comments to journalists on a US airbase, late on Thursday.
Biden added that he had a “very direct” conversation with Netanyahu about the need to reach a deal. “We have the basis for a ceasefire. He should move on it and they should move on it now.”
Without an end to fighting in Gaza there is little hope of easing spiralling regional tensions. Iranian allies and proxies including Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen say they are fighting in solidarity with Palestinians under attack in Gaza.
Haniyeh’s death has not been officially claimed by Israel but it has been widely celebrated inside the country as an Israeli operation, including by top politicians and former security chiefs.
There have been conflicting reports about whether the explosion that killed Haniyeh was caused by a missile or a concealed bomb. But regardless of details, the operation in the heart of Tehran, at a time of heightened security, was an extraordinary tactical feat, even if its longer-term strategic implications for Israel are not yet clear.
The dual assassinations, and Israel’s announcement that it had killed the military chief inside Gaza, Mohammed Deif, could give Netanyahu political cover to agree a halt to fighting, on the grounds he had taken out much of Hamas’ leadership and struck a major blow against Hezbollah.
He is yet to show much interest in pushing for a deal, though. Announcing Shukr’s assassination, Netanyahu said it was possible only because he had spent months resisting heavy pressure to agree a ceasefire. Israel would continue fighting until it reached its goals, including eliminating Hamas capabilities, he added.
On Friday, Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, met his British counterpart, John Healey, who is visiting allies in the region. Gallant briefed Healey and thanked him for Britain’s support in helping to defend Israel from an Iranian attack in April, the Israeli government said in a statement.
That unprecedented attack, with more than 300 drones and missiles, came after another targeted assassination outside Israel’s border, when it killed a senior Iranian commander at an embassy complex in the Syrian capital Damascus.
The UK was part of an international coalition that played a critical role in intercepting the Iranian arms. The US has already said it will defend Israel if it is attacked again.
Haniyeh’s funeral and burial, in a mosque north of the Qatari capital, was attended by a hundreds-strong crowd, including Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
Also attending were Hamas officials tipped as potential successors, the former Hamas chief and close aide Khaled Meshaal and the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Khalil al-Hayya. “We are sure that his blood will bring out victory, dignity and liberation,” Hayya told Haniyeh’s family.
His coffin, draped with the Palestinian flag, stood beside that of a bodyguard killed with him. They will be buried in the city of Lusail later on Friday.
Hamas called for a “day of rage” to mark the burial, and joined calls for retaliation, although after nearly 10 months of fighting in Gaza its military options are limited.
Haniyeh was also mourned at mosques across the region. Israel’s interior minister said he planned to revoke the residence permit of a preacher at al-Aqsa mosque, who he said had led a prayer for the Hamas leader.
Moshe Arbel sent a letter to the attorney general saying Sheikh Ekrima Sa’id Sabri had committed a security felony and breach of trust. A residence permit can be revoked for breaches of trust in Israel, even without a legal conviction.