ISRAEL was widely condemned today for the assassination of the political head of Hamas in a rocket attack in Tehran.

The attack came hours after a top Hezbollah commander was killed in a bomb attack on Beirut.

The brazen murders in the capital cities of two nearby countries leave the Middle East on the brink of an all-out war and ceasefire talks over the fighting in Gaza in tatters.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a pre-dawn air strike in the Iranian capital today.

Blame was immediately attached to Israel for the shock assassination, although there has been no comment from Tel Aviv.

The Israelis have previously pledged to kill Mr Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel during which nearly 1,200 people were killed and another 250 were taken hostage.

The strike came just after Mr Haniyeh had attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: “We consider his revenge as our duty.”

He added Israel had “prepared a harsh punishment for itself” by killing “a dear guest in our home.”

President Pezeshkian said his country “will defend its territorial integrity, honour, dignity, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act.”

Palestinian diplomat and peace negotiator Dr Hanan Ashrawi described Israel as a “rogue state that represents a real and present danger globally.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the killing was “a despicable attempt to undermine the Palestinian cause,” while Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov described the assassination as an “unacceptable political murder” that will exacerbate regional tensions.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said: “We firmly oppose and condemn any assassination and violent act and we are deeply concerned about the potential increase in regional instability due to this incident.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US was not “aware of or involved in” the killing of the Hamas leader. 

Israel is also believed to be responsible for Tuesday’s assassination of Fouad Shukur, a top Hezbollah commander who they accuse, without evidence, of being behind a weekend rocket attack that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. 

The strike in Beirut killed at least one woman and two children and wounded dozens of people.

Hezbollah official Ali Ammar told Al-Manar TV: “The Israeli enemy will pay a price for this sooner or later.”

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the Israeli attack, saying it struck a few yards from one of the largest hospitals in the capital.