Qatar to bury Ismail Haniyeh as Türkiye, Pakistan announce day of mourning

Qatar is to hold funeral ceremonies for Hamas peace negotiator Ismail Haniyeh after his assassination by Israel that has pushed Middle East deeper into an escalation of the conflict.

Haniyeh, the Palestinian resistance group's political chief, had resided in Doha along with other members of the Hamas political office.

On Friday, he will be buried at a cemetery in Lusail, north of the Qatari capital, following funeral prayers at the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab mosque, the gas-rich emirate's largest.

Türkiye and Pakistan announced a day of mourning on Friday in honour of Haniyeh and their solidarity with Palestinian people, while Hamas has called for a "day of furious rage" to coincide with the burial.

Hamas has said "Arab and Islamic leaders", as well as representatives of other Palestinian factions and members of the public, would attend the events.

Haniyeh and a bodyguard were assassinated by Tel Aviv in the pre-dawn attack on their accommodation in Tehran early on Wednesday.

He had travelled to Iran to attend Tuesday's swearing-in of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

A public funeral ceremony for Haniyeh was held in Tehran on Thursday, with crowds of mourners paying their respects.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, led prayers for Haniyeh, having earlier threatened "harsh punishment" for his assassination.

Assassinating the negotiator

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has encouraged "roaring anger marches... from every mosque" following Friday prayers to protest Haniyeh's assassination as well as the ongoing carnage in besieged Gaza.

Haniyeh's coffin arrived in Doha on Thursday afternoon, Qatar-based network Al Jazeera reported, broadcasting images of a convoy, including internal security force vehicles, travelling down Doha's shore-hugging corniche road.

Haniyeh had played a key role in talks for a potential truce in Gaza, liaising with mediators Qatar, which has led months of behind-the-scenes negotiations alongside Egypt and the US.

Reacting to Haniyeh's death, Qatar's prime minister said the killing had thrown the mediation process into doubt.

"How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?" Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on social media site X.

The international community called for calm and a focus on securing a ceasefire in Gaza — which Haniyeh had accused Israel of obstructing.

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Source: TRT