Joe Biden has said the killing of Ismail Haniyeh “does not help” ceasefire talks after the top Hamas leader was “wiped out in an Israeli strike.”
Haniyeh was killed during a visit to Tehran, Iran’s capital, on Wednesday after an explosive device detonated inside a heavily guarded guesthouse where he was staying for the presidential inauguration.
Iran and its allies have blamed Israel, but the country has yet to take responsibility for the death of the senior official.
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) should move forward on it and they (Hamas) should move forward on it now.”
The president’s comments were his first on Haniyeh’s assassination since the head of the terror group was killed.
US President Joe Biden has said the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh “does not help” talks on a possible ceasefire in Gaza
Haniyeh was killed on Wednesday with an explosive device that was reportedly smuggled into a Tehran guesthouse two months ago.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh pictured in Iran on Tuesday hours before his death
“It’s not helpful,” Biden told reporters Thursday night, when asked if Haniyeh’s killing had ruined chances for a ceasefire deal.
Biden also said he had a direct conversation with Netanyahu early Thursday.
“The President discussed efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats, including ballistic missiles and drones, to include new U.S. defensive military deployments,” the White House said in a statement.
Biden reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including its “proxy terrorist groups” Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
In assuring Washington of its commitment to defending Israel, Biden stressed the importance of ongoing efforts to reduce broader tensions in the region.
Israel’s tensions with Iran and Hezbollah have fueled fears of a wider conflict in a region already on edge following Israel’s assault on Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of people and sparked 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 covertly placed inside the building, even though the complex was protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, sources told the Daily. New York Times.
A bodyguard was also killed in the blast, which Iranian and Hamas officials said on Wednesday was caused by Israel.
After Haniyeh was killed, it was believed he had been killed by a missile strike, but it is now reported that a failure in Iran’s defences meant the assassins were able to covertly plant and conceal the bomb for several weeks before it detonated.
The bomb was detonated once it was confirmed that Haniyeh (pictured) was in his room.
Displaced Palestinians are leaving western Khan Yunis for areas east of the city following reports that Israeli forces withdrew from the area on July 30.
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, as seen from Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 29.
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in Israeli airstrikes in the eastern areas of Khan Yunis, at Nasser Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza, July 28.
But questions about how such a catastrophic security breach occurred remain unanswered, with Middle Eastern officials admitting that such an attack would have required months of vigilance and planning to carry out.
Although Iran has vowed “revenge” for Haniyeh’s death, his killing is not expected to lead to a dramatic escalation of the regional conflict.
“What this offers is a head on a silver platter,” Dr Andreas Krieg, associate professor of security studies at King’s College London, told MailOnline.
Netanyahu can say that this is the end of the organization, and that is about as close as Israel will get to defeating Hamas.
“But that can only work if Israel now says ‘we are ready to engage in ceasefire talks.'”
“Not all sides want an open war. Everyone wants to maintain their reputation. No one wants to lose face. These people are replaceable.
‘All parties will find a way in this escalation of retaliation to respond in measure beyond a certain limit… all parties have been pushing for the threshold, but in all aspects have always tried not to exceed it.’
Haniyeh’s assassination came at a time of rising tensions in the Middle East.
On Saturday, 12 children and young people were killed after an attack on a football field in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israel has blamed Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and vowed “severe” retaliation, although Hezbollah has denied any involvement.
On Tuesday, just hours before Haniyeh’s assassination, Israel killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, who it said was behind the Golan Heights attack, in a targeted airstrike in Beirut.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict erupted on Oct. 7 when the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli counts.
In its 10-month campaign of bombings and offensives in Gaza, Israel has killed some 39,480 Palestinians and wounded more than 91,100, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, whose tally does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
More than 80% of the 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes, the vast majority crammed into tent camps in the far southwest of the territory, with limited food and water.