July 31, 2024 - Hamas political leader killed, Israel strikes Beirut

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Temporary flight restrictions have been issued in Tehran ahead of a memorial procession on Thursday for assassinated Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The notice issued by Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation restricts flight movements within a 2-kilometer (0.6-mile) circle radius centered at the University of Tehran.

Flight restrictions will be in place from 6 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. ET Wednesday) until 10:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. ET Thursday), according to the notice.

Haniyeh’s procession will be held from the University of Tehran towards the capital’s Azadi Square, Iran’s semi-official news agency Mehr News said.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will lead prayers Thursday morning, according to Iran’s state-run PressTV news outlet. 

Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization regularly issues Notice to Air Missions across the country, which alert pilots to issues that impact flight operations. But the one in place for Thursday specifically restricts flights in the airspace surrounding where Haniyeh’s procession is due to take place and within the same frame.

Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki speaks at an event at the U.N. headquarters in New York on November 27, 2023.

Israel will not be invited to a ceremony in Japan commemorating the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki city, according to Japanese news agency Kyodo News, which cited the city’s mayor Shiro Suzuki.

In June, Suzuki sent a letter to Israel calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, leaving an invitation to the annual peace ceremony on hold due to a risk of “unexpected situations” such as protests, according to Kyodo News.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Suzuki said he had not seen any changes that would lessen those risks ahead of the August 9 ceremony promoting world peace.

Israel’s Ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen, described the decision as “regrettable” in a post on X, adding it “sends a wrong message to the world.” 

In contrast, Hiroshima has invited Israel to its annual ceremony on August 6, a decision that’s been controversial with activists and atomic bomb survivors’ groups that say Israel should be excluded this year as Russia and Belarus have been for the past two years over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Israel’s representative Jonathan Miller speaks at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, July 31 in New York.

Israel’s representative speaking at the UN Security Council, Jonathan Miller, urged the United Nations to “hold the Islamic Republic accountable for its crimes” related to its support of groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. 

Miller called Iran “the very engine driving the machinery of death and destruction that threatens us all.”  

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Feda Abdelhady Nasser, the deputy permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the UN, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting at the United Nations Headquarters on Wednesday, July 31, in New York City.

Feda Abdelhady-Nasser, the deputy permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, called for accountability in the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and condemned what she called Israel’s “criminal breach” of the territorial integrity of its neighboring countries with recent strikes on Lebanon and Iran. 

“We demand accountability for this assassination, as we have continually demanded accountability for the wanton murder and injury of over 130,000 Palestinian children, women, and men across these past 300 days of horror and hell in Gaza. And call for accountability for all of Israel’s criminal policies and practices in our territory across the decades,” she continued.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations blamed the United States for the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, claiming that it could not have happened without US authorization and intelligence support.

Hamas said its political leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in an overnight strike in the Iranian capital Tehran. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind Haniyeh’s assassination.

“Israel was also pursuing [a] political goal with this act, aiming to disrupt the first day of the new government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has prioritized strengthening peace and stability in the region, and enhancing cooperation and constructive engagement with international community,” Iravani added.

Earlier today, US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said that “the United States was not aware of or involved in the apparent death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh,” adding that the US has “no independent confirmation as to Hamas’s claims regarding his death.”

Ambassador Robert Wood, Alternate Representative of the U.S. for Special Political Affairs in the U.N., speaks during a U.N. Security Council meeting at the United Nations Headquarters on Wednesday, July 31, in New York City.

US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood urged the United Nations Security Council to support what he called Israel’s “right to defend itself against attacks” from groups like Hezbollah. He also called on the council to hold Iran accountable for its support of such groups, as well as its alleged violations of international law.

“Israel has a right to defend itself against attacks from Hezbollah, and other terrorists,” Wood said. “That is precisely what it did on July 30.” 

Wood said that although the US was not involved with Israel’s response on July 30 in Lebanon, “there is no doubt absolutely none that Hezbollah was responsible for this attack, which used an Iranian weapon and was launched from a portion of Lebanon controlled by Hezbollah.”

Wood said Iran has to comply with existing Security Council resolutions or face additional measures. 

Wood also said that “the United States was not aware of or involved in the apparent death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh,” adding that the US has “no independent confirmation as to Hamas’s claims regarding his death.”

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is closely monitoring the rapidly developing regional situation, and expressing deep concern over the ongoing escalation and its implications for security and stability in the region, in a statement posted by the Emirati state news agency WAM on Wednesday.

Anwar Mohammed Gargash, serving as a senior diplomatic advisor to the President of the United Arab Emirates, also expressed grave concerns over the recent developments in the region.

In a statement on X, Gargash highlighted the “alarming events” unfolding from Beirut to Tehran across various fronts.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks after casting his vote for the presidential runoff election on July 5 in Tehran, Iran.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued an order for Iran to “strike Israel directly” following the killing of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran overnight, according to the New York Times. 

The Times, citing information it said was provided by three Iranian officials familiar with the order, said the directive was given during an emergency meeting for Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Wednesday. 

The New York Times said the officials asked not to be named because they did not have the authority to speak publicly. The report did not say how or when any strike would be carried out.

Earlier, Khamenei said it was Iran’s “duty” to avenge Haniyeh’s death since he was killed inside Iran. 

“You killed our dear guest in our house and now have paved the way for your harsh punishment,” he said in a statement, referring to Israel. 

CNN reviewed statements by Hamas and others, in addition to state media outlets and other social media posts, to analyze and track the Islamist militant group leader Ismail Haniyeh’s movements since October 7, 2023.

After he celebrated seeing his fighters return to the Gaza Strip with Israeli equipment in Hamas’ office in Istanbul, Turkey on October 7, Ismail Haniyeh spent the majority of his time in Doha as head of Hamas’ Political Bureau but took a number of trips to Tehran, Istanbul and Cairo, according to a CNN analysis.

Tehran: Haniyeh took at least four trips to Tehran – in November, March, May and July. During all four visits, he met with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

In May, he attended the funerals of Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who were killed in a helicopter crash. 

On his final trip to Tehran, which ended with his assassination, he was attending the inauguration of the new Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian.

Cairo: He also took three known trips to Cairo in November, December and February, to lead Hamas’ ceasefire negotiating delegation. That negotiation process, which is still ongoing, has been shepherded by Qatar and Egypt.  

Doha: As war ravaged Gaza, Haniyeh spent the majority of his time in Hamas’ Doha offices. While there, press statements from Hamas indicate he repeatedly met with a number of foreign dignitaries, gave speeches and held meetings.

Doha is also where Haniyeh issued his first statement after his three sons, and four grandchildren were killed in Gaza by an Israeli airstrike. In that statement from mid-April, he said that such killings will only make Hamas more steadfast in its principles, adding that Hamas will not surrender, will not compromise, no matter how great the sacrifice.