Summary: Hamas has said its leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed while staying in Tehran.

 

He was killed in an air strike at about 2:00 local time, reports say.

 

The group blames Israel for the attack – Israel has yet to respond but has previously vowed to eliminate Hamas’s leaders.

 

Haniyeh’s death comes hours after Israel says it killed a senior Hezbollah commander in a strike in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

 

The attacks on two senior Iran-backed militant leaders in the space of 24 hours has raised fears of further regional conflict.

 

It also throws ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel into doubt – as Haniyeh was a critical figure in negotiations.

 

Haniyeh – who was from Gaza but had lived in Qatar for several years – was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran’s president.

 

Text/ image- BBC