How did Western Media react to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh?

The assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran dominated the headlines on Wednesday. Many media reports focused on Haniyeh’s reputation as a moderate figure in Hamas and accepted claims from Iran and Hamas that Israel was behind the attack.

According to a statement by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya news, Haniyeh was killed at approximately 2 am Wednesday, just hours after Hezbollah’s top military commander, Fuad Shukr, was killed by an Israeli strike in Beirut. Both assassinations threaten to escalate regional tensions.

Shukr was the commander behind the Majdal Shams attack last week that killed 12 children. He was also wanted by the US because of his role in planning and executing the 1983 Beirut barracks attack that killed 307 people, including 241 US soldiers.

While Israel claimed responsibility for the strike on Shukr, it has not commented on Haniyeh’s killing.

Born in 1962 in the Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza, Haniyeh was a prominent Palestinian political leader. He rose through the ranks of Hamas to become one of the group’s most influential leaders.

The death of Haniyeh, who was considered a moderate voice within Hamas, complicates the already tense regional dynamics and leaves a significant gap in Hamas’ leadership. Hamas and Iran have both blamed Israel for the assassination and vowed to retaliate.

Other than Iran and Hamas, only China, Lebanon, Qatar, Turkey, and Jordan have formally accused Israel of killing Haniyeh. But most American and British news sources seem to accept that Israel was behind the attack.

Media reacts

A BBC article on the killing called Haniyeh “moderate and pragmatic” and did not describe him as a terrorist. The British channel Sky News also described him as a “moderate leader.” A casual news consumer might not realize that Haniyeh was sanctioned by the US and wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The New York Times headline on Haniyeh’s assassination read, “Ismail Haniyeh, a Top Hamas Leader, Is Dead at 62.” The article described Haniyeh as a “Hamas top negotiator in cease-fire talks to end the nearly 10-month-old war in Gaza,” and did not mention his role in starting the war.

Many news outlets focused on the potential response from Hamas and Iran. The main headline on the NPR website read, “Hamas accuses Israel of killing its top political leader while he was in Tehran.” The main Reuters headline was “Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Iran, stoking fears of wider Middle East war.”

In a CNN article titled “Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Iran,” the news site included a section about open questions regarding the assassination, such as which type of aircraft was used in the strike. Israel’s role in the killing was not listed as an open question.

The conservative channel Fox News headline on the subject read, “Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh reportedly assassinated—Israel was immediately blamed for the assassination.” The channel suggested that Israel was most likely behind the attack, noting that Israel does not make public comments on assassinations carried out by its Mossad intelligence agency.

Similarly, in the Washington Post article “Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated; Iran vows revenge,” the newspaper said that Israel was adopting a policy of “strategic ambiguity” by not commenting on the assassination.