Hamas's political director Ismail Haneh was murdered in Tehran while attending the presidential inauguration.

According to Hamas's statement, which governs Gaza, the political bureau chief Hanye was assassinated in Tehran, the capital of Iran.

According to the statement, Hanye and one of his bodyguards were killed after the building where they were staying was attacked.

“The Islamic resistance movement Hamas extends its condolences to the great Palestinian people, the Arab-Islamic nation, and free people around the world: brother, leader, and martyr Mujahid Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a treachful attack by Zionists on his home in Tehran.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also announced Hanye's death.

“Early this morning, Ismail Hanye's residence in Tehran was attacked and he and one of his guards were martyred. The cause is under investigation and will be announced soon,” the IRGC said in a statement.

Details about how Hanye was killed were not revealed, and the IRGC said the attack was under investigation.

Israel kept silent about Hanye's death, and local media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office ordered ministers not to comment. However, the far-right Heritage Minister Amihai Erihayu celebrated the death of Hamas leader on social media X.

It is written in Hebrew that this murder “makes the world a little better.”

Israel began the war in Gaza after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 200 prisoners, promising to eliminate Hamas and kill its leader.

At least 39,400 Palestinians were killed and 90,996 were injured in Israel's war.

Haniyeh left the Gaza Strip in 2019 and lived in Qatar. Hamas's top leader in Gaza is Yaya Singwal.

Al-Jazeera's Hani Mahmood in Dir el-Bala in Gaza said the killing was “serious” for the people of Gaza because she was the leader of negotiations that the Gazans expected to lead to a cease-fire.

“Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank see Ismail Hanye as a moderate leader.

“He's very popular here. He grew up in a refugee camp. He represents the majority of people who are descendants of refugee families expelled from the Palestinian Authority in 1948”.

Many people are worried that Hanye's murder will lead to a further escalation of the conflict, he added.

Tensions were already rising after Israel announced Tuesday that it had targeted Hezbollah executives in a “precision attack” on Beirut.

“What happened yesterday in Lebanon and today in Tehran. It's an escalation (by Israel), and it will have a big impact,” Sami Al-Alian, director of the Center for Islamic Global Affairs at Istanbul Zaim University, told Al Jazeera.