Gaza Palestinians fear no end to bloodshed after Haniyeh assassination

Hours after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran, anxious residents in Israeli-besieged Gaza voiced fear that his death would only prolong the war ravaging the Palestinian enclave.

A framed photo of Haniyeh amidst the ruins of his Gaza home reminded Palestinians of the death and destruction brought on by a war now in its 10th month, with little hope for a truce as Hamas and Iran vow revenge against Israel for his killing.

"The world should now understand that Israel doesn't want a ceasefire or an end to the war," said Gaza resident Salah Abu Rezik.

Haniyeh, who lived mainly in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, was the tough-talking face of Hamas' international diplomacy as war raged back in Gaza, where three of his sons were killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home.

Mediators from Egypt, US and Qatar have thus far failed to secure a ceasefire after many attempts.

"It is a very sad day. It is a big blow to us and it pains our hearts, a very sad morning," Salah Abu Rezik, a 63-year-old man from Gaza City, told Reuters via a chat app.

Haniyeh had led the militant group since 2017 and had moved between Qatar and Turkey as the group's hardline leadership in Gaza hid from Israel's military onslaught. A recent Israeli airstrike targeted Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, who has survived at least seven assassination attempts.

Some Gaza Palestinians said Haniyeh's killing made the prospects for an end to the war even more remote.

His assassination stoked jitters about a wider, more complex Middle East war as Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel trade fire over their border and Houthi militia in Yemen attack ships with links to Israel in the Red Sea and other waters.

"If Iran doesn't strike Israel, I can say it sold Haniyeh out," Gaza resident Rasha Ali, 40, said.

Even those who did not support Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders shared fears of an uncontrollable escalation.

Nadia, who gave only her first name, said she blamed both Hamas and Israel for the ongoing bloodshed accompanied by a humanitarian crisis in impoverished Gaza, one of the world's most densely populated areas.

"Now I think there will never be a ceasefire in a very long time," she said.

NEIGHBOURS SADDENED

For two of Haniyeh's former neighbours in Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, his death is also a personal loss.

Residents of Gaza have watched Israel assassinate one Hamas leader after another since the Islamist group's founding in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.

Fatima Al Saati was sleeping when the news of Haniyeh's demise broke. She has not stopped crying since the Middle East woke up to what could be the biggest obstacle to peace since Hamas triggered Gaza's war with an attack on Israel on 7 Oct.

Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people during the incursion and took over 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

"What a loss. We lost one of our very own," Al Saati said of Haniyeh. Another neighbour, Hachem Al-Saati, said, "This news is scary. We feel that he was like a father to us."

The 7 Oct attack became the deadliest day in Israel's 75-year history, and it has since struck Gaza with air and artillery barrages and a ground offensive that have killed more than 39,000 people and turned much of the territory into piles of crushed cement and twisted metal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to hunt down Hamas leaders and destroy the group, which has ruled Gaza since 2007 after Israel withdrew settlers and ground forces.

"Haniyeh is not dearer than dozens of thousands of other martyrs, whom God blessed with martyrdom," said Rami Mohammad-Ali, 35, a man from a suburb of Gaza City.