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(Original title: US media disclosed details of the attack: Haniyeh was killed by an explosive device in his residence, and the bomb was hidden two months ago)

On July 30th local time, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh attended the swearing-in ceremony of the new Iranian president.

Guancha.com reported that it was a long-range airstrike or a close-range attack? More than two days have passed since the assassination of Hamas leader Haniyeh, and the method of assassination remains a mystery. A US media report on August 1 gave a new explanation - Haniyeh was killed by a remote-controlled bomb that was placed in his residence two months in advance.

The New York Times said that according to a description by a U.S. official and seven Middle Eastern officials, Haniyeh was assassinated on the 31st by an explosive device secretly transported to the hotel where he was staying. Five Middle Eastern officials said that the bomb was hidden in the residence about two months ago, and once Haniyeh was confirmed to be in the room, the bomb was remotely detonated. The incident also killed one of Haniyeh's bodyguards.

Although Iranian media previously quoted witnesses as saying that a missile-like object hit Haniya's room and then exploded, two Iranian guards said the explosion occurred in Haniya's room and preliminary investigations showed that the bomb was placed there in advance.

The New York Times said Iranian officials confirmed that the photo circulating on social media was the residence where Haniyeh was attacked.

CNN gave the same statement. The report quoted a source familiar with the operation as saying that the bomb was hidden in the hotel where Haniyeh lived in Tehran about two months ago and was remotely detonated after he entered the room. The source also said that Israeli officials informed American officials of the operation only after the assassination.

Iranian and Middle Eastern officials said the explosion occurred at around 2 a.m. local time on the 31st. The staff in the building were startled and ran to find the source of the loud noise, and finally found the room where Haniya and the bodyguard lived. A medical team rushed to the scene immediately after the explosion, but announced that Haniya had died on the spot, and the bodyguard died after unsuccessful rescue.

Two Iranian Revolutionary Guard officials familiar with the incident recalled that the explosion shook the entire building, window glass flew everywhere and part of the outer wall collapsed.

Five Middle Eastern officials said that Ziad Nahala, secretary general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Jihad), who lived in the same building as Haniyeh, rushed to the scene and saw Haniyeh's body. Two other Iranian officials said that Nahala lived near Haniyeh, but his room was not seriously damaged, indicating that the explosion was a precision strike specifically targeting Haniyeh.

Three Iranian officials said that after the explosion, someone immediately notified the commander-in-chief of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Ghani. Upon learning the news, Ghani urgently contacted Iran's supreme leader Khamenei in the middle of the night, even waking him up from his sleep to report the emergency.

Four hours after the incident, Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced the killing of Haniyeh.

Middle Eastern officials said the assassination apparently took months to plan and would have required the attackers to keep the building under close surveillance.

The report said that the residence where Haniyeh was assassinated was located in an upscale community in northern Tehran and was operated and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Middle Eastern officials said that Haniyeh had stayed here many times when he visited Tehran in the past.

The New York Times reported earlier that an anonymous Iranian official confirmed to the media that the damaged building in a photo circulating on the Internet was the site of the attack in Haniya. A corner of the building in the photo appeared to be severely damaged and covered by multiple green waterproof curtains, and rubble could be seen on the top platform of the first floor. The New York Times matched the photo with satellite images and confirmed that the building was near the Saade Abad Palace in northern Tehran. Many of Iran's foreign affairs activities are held in the Saade Abad Palace.

As for how the attackers hid the bomb in the building months in advance, two Iranian officials said they did not know. They described the precision and complexity of the attack as tactically reminiscent of Israel's assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in 2020. It is said that Israeli agents used remote-controlled robots to launch the attack.

On November 30, 2020, local time, in Tehran, Iran, Iran held a state funeral for the assassinated senior nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

Within hours of Haniya's death, there was speculation that Israel had launched a missile attack using drones or fighter jets. But this claim quickly raised questions about how Israel could once again evade Iran's air defense system and blatantly launch an air strike on key areas of the Iranian capital.

The Israeli website i24NEWS reported on July 31 that the attack took place at around 2 a.m. that day, when an Israeli-made Spike anti-tank missile was fired from near Haniyeh's residence and hit the bedroom where he was. The report quoted Iranian media as saying that Haniyeh's bodyguard leaked key information that led to his attack.

The New York Times said that it turned out that another loophole in Iran's defense system was exploited: a heavily guarded compound allowed attackers to plant a bomb and hide it for weeks before finally detonating it.

Three Iranian officials admitted that for Iran, the killing of Haniyeh was a "catastrophic failure" in intelligence and security, and it also put the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps into a great embarrassment - because the site of the attack was exactly where the Revolutionary Guard Corps held secret meetings and received dignitaries like Haniyeh.

Although Hamas, Iran and other parties have accused Israel of being behind the attack, Israel has not yet made an official response.

The New York Times quoted three Iranian officials familiar with the matter on the 31st as saying that Khamenei had ordered a direct attack on Israel in retaliation. Three anonymous Iranian officials, including two members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Khamenei issued the order at an emergency meeting on the morning of the 31st.

However, US media said it is unclear how strong Iran's response will be, nor whether Iran will make adjustments again to avoid escalation of the situation.

"(The attack on Haniya) is a major escalation," said Nader Hashemi, a professor of Middle East studies at Georgetown University in the United States. "I think this will also affect events in Lebanon, where people currently believe that Iran and Hezbollah are not interested in escalating the situation."

But the assassination of Haniyeh has upended those predictions, he said, and "Iran now has every incentive to try to escalate the conflict."

On August 1, local time, the Israeli Army Radio stated that according to informed sources, due to the death of Haniyeh in the attack, Hamas has indefinitely frozen the ceasefire and personnel exchange agreement negotiations.

Several analysts told Al Jazeera that the incident in Haniya could draw the region into a wider conflict and undermine the prospects of reaching a ceasefire agreement to end the Gaza conflict.

Some critics and experts believe that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu frequently disrupts ceasefire negotiations because he does not want to end the war. He is worried that the end of the war will lead to the collapse of the far-right coalition government he leads and trigger early elections.

But in the view of Myrav Zonzein, an expert on Israeli-Palestinian affairs at the International Crisis Group, Netanyahu may try to tout Haniyeh's assassination as a "victory" for Israel to make it more politically feasible for him to agree to a ceasefire.

Further reading

Niu Tanqin: Israel killed its most wanted enemy Iran and made the whole world laugh at it

Based on the picture posted by the Government Information Office

It has to be said that Israel is Israel.

Everyone knows that Hamas's top leader Haniyeh is likely to be killed by Israel, but many people never expected that Haniyeh would be killed in his residence in Tehran, Iran.

One of his bodyguards was also killed.

Who did it?

No need to ask, Israel!

But Israel, as usual, neither denied nor acknowledged it.The Israeli government’s press office quickly posted a photo of Haniyeh on social media with the words “killed”.

Everything is clear.

In fact, during the Paris Olympics, on the same day, July 31, Israel also launched an air strike on Beirut, killing Hezbollah senior leader Shukur and injuring dozens of people.

The two attacks, especially the successful hunting down of the top leader of Hamas, at least killed three birds with one stone.

First, the heavy blow to Hamas also fully demonstrated Israel's ruthless means, no matter how far away you are, you will be punished. Even if you are the top leader of Hamas, you can't escape Israel's black hand.

Second, the attack in Tehran is a serious warning to Iran. Don't forget that just a few hours ago, Haniyeh met with Iran's top leaders. Are they also in the hands of Mossad?

Third, it is a deterrent to other anti-Israel armed groups. Look at the fate of Haniyeh and Shukur. If they continue to oppose Israel, Israel will hunt them down to the end.

Haniyeh met with Khamenei before assassination

Of course, for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, this is an even greater victory.

Netanyahu is in a bad situation now. Most Israelis dislike him and protests are ongoing. He knows very well that if he is driven out of office, he will be investigated by relevant departments and may end up in jail.

Now, with the strength at the front, I suddenly hunted down the enemy I wanted to kill the most, which was naturally a great joy.

Netanyahu immediately spoke out, and put it bluntly:Anyone who harms our children, anyone who murders our fellow citizens and harms our country will pay with their lives, and any act of aggression against Israel will pay a heavy price.

It refers to both Haniyeh and Shukur, and is also a clear warning to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent “invasion of Israel.”

Last year, Hamas attacked Israel, and Israel subsequently launched a massacre in Gaza. Now Haniyeh has also been killed. Hezbollah rockets killed more than a dozen Druze children, and Israel immediately launched an air strike on Beirut, eliminating Shukur, an important Hezbollah leader.

In the Middle East, Israel is indeed not someone to be trifled with.

For Haniya, this ending is indeed regrettable.

If he stayed in Qatar, he would actually be safe, because Israel had made a clear promise to Qatar that it would never launch an assassination in Qatar.

Considering the overall situation of Israel-Qatar relations, Israel generally abided by the agreement. Therefore, although Israel hates Haniyeh, Haniyeh has been in Qatar for many years and is safe and sound.

But he went to Iran to attend the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president in person, and thus stepped into dangerous territory.

This is a major negligence and shame for Iran.

Haniyeh is such an important figure, and the whole world knows that he is Israel's number one target. He was doing nothing in Qatar, but he was killed by Israel in Tehran, the capital of Iran.

From another perspective, it is even more evident how deeply Mossad has infiltrated Iran. They fully grasped Haniyeh's exact whereabouts and chose the best time to assassinate him.

Municipal workers walk through debris from damaged buildings in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, caused by an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday night.

What will be the consequences?

First, Hamas is more sad and angry, but it is unlikely to collapse.

They must be sad and angry that the top leader was killed in this way.

Before he was assassinated, like many Palestinians in Gaza, he had also experienced the pain of losing his loved ones. Israel's indiscriminate bombing had claimed the lives of his three sons and four grandchildren.

But will Hamas collapse?

A little bit, but not at all.

Because Hamas is not only an organization, but also an ideology.

I remember when I was working in Jerusalem more than 20 years ago, the Sharon government of Israel also launched a massive attack, killing the spiritual leader of Hamas, Yassin, in a few strokes, and then quickly killing Yassin's successor, Rantisi.

Has Hamas collapsed?

One person falls, and more people stand up with hatred.

Although Haniyeh is the supreme leader and has served as the Prime Minister of Palestine, he has more political influence; the actual military command of Hamas is in the hands of Sinwar and others in the Gaza tunnels.

They will never surrender. Even if they are killed, there will be more to take their place.

Second, Iran is very angry and will inevitably retaliate.

Indeed, Iran has made a fool of itself around the world.

Our own nuclear scientists were assassinated one after another in our own country; now, a guest from afar was bombed to death in his residence in Tehran.

What does security do?

But that's the reality.

Iran, oh Iran, the infiltration of Mossad in Iran is shocking; the methods of Israeli agents are cruel and ruthless.

Certainly, Iran will launch a campaign to catch spies, but can they really catch the murderer?

All we can say is it’s better to mend the fold before the sheep are lost.

But Iran is bound to retaliate.

I saw that the angry Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei strongly condemned Israel's actions and ordered Iran to retaliate directly against Israel.

He said: "You have killed our honored guest in our house, thus paving the way for severe revenge on you. It is our duty to avenge the blood of our honored guest."

Gaza is in ruins after Israeli attack

Third, more blood and gore.

Israel considers assassinations in a country as revenge and counter-terrorism; but from another perspective, isn't this also state terrorism?

Where is international law?

Poor thing, international law is in the books.

So, we see that after the incident, except for the United States pretending to know nothing, countries around the world, including China and Russia, have condemned the assassination and are worried about the further deterioration of the situation.

After all, Haniyeh was a key figure in the ceasefire negotiations between Palestine and Israel. If he was targeted and eliminated, who would they talk to? Who would be willing to talk?

Qatari Prime Minister Al-Thani denounced:"How can mediation succeed when one side assassinates the other's negotiator? Peace requires serious partnerships and a global stand against the disregard for human life."

But this may be exactly what Netanyahu wants!

They didn't want to talk in the first place, and now they are even more unscrupulous and can kill as much as they want. They will completely wipe out Hamas in Gaza and strangle Hezbollah in the north. The more tense the situation is, the safer they are.

Bloody storm! Bloody storm! Bloody storm!

The Middle East is full of tigers and wolves, when will the cycle of revenge end?