August 1, 2024 Middle East conflict

Our live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East has moved here.

Demonstrators sit inside a cage, as they take part in a march marking 300 days since the deadly October 7 attack and calling for an immediate release of hostages being held in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on August 1.

Israeli protesters gathered in Tel Aviv Thursday to demand the government reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal as they marked 300 days since Hamas’ devastating October 7 attack on Israel.

Hostages’ families were joined by a sea of supporters holding images of their loved ones at Hostages Square as they urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring them home, the rallying cry of the?campaign to support the captives,?which keeps a ticker of how long their kidnap ordeal has lasted prominently on its homepage.

At least 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 others abducted to Gaza in Hamas’ October 7 assault, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel’s military response in the strip has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians and injured over 90,000, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. As of early July,?nearly 2 million people?had been displaced in Gaza – almost the entire population, according to UN figures.

Israelis take part in a march marking 300 days since the deadly October 7 attack and calling for an immediate release of hostages being held in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on August 1.

“Brief window”: There are 111 hostages still in Gaza, including 39 believed to be dead, according to data from Netanyahu’s office. Many families have repeatedly slammed the prime minister for failing to secure their release.

Anat Angrest, mother of hostage Matan Angrest, cited “consensus among all security agencies” that there is only “a brief window of opportunity for a life-saving deal.”

Months of negotiations on a deal to end the war in Gaza and free the remaining Israeli hostages had already hit repeated roadblocks before Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, a key player in the talks, was killed on Tuesday night. Iran and Hamas have blamed the assassination on Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in his killing.?

President Joe Biden at the White House on August 1.

President Joe Biden?is weighing more US defenses in the Middle East as the US?prepares for an Iranian retaliation?against Israel that officials say could include an attack on American forces.

In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister?Benjamin?Netanyahu?Thursday,?Biden said the US would “support Israel’s defense against threats,” which would include “new defensive US military deployments,” according to a readout of the call.

The statement did not detail what new deployments would occur ahead of an?anticipated Iranian attack?in response to the?assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh?in Tehran. According to several US officials, the Pentagon has discussed with US Central Command what adjustments to make to US force posture in the region, but no final decision had been made as of Thursday afternoon. The officials said an Iranian response could occur in the coming days.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, which includes the aircraft carrier, destroyers and other warships, has been operating in the Gulf of Oman in recent weeks. The strike group could potentially move into the Gulf of Aden or the Red Sea, where Navy warships have intercepted dozens of Houthi launches over the past several months.

The USS Wasp amphibious assault ship and several other Navy vessels are currently operating in the Mediterranean Sea.?The group includes a Marine expeditionary unit capable of carrying out an evacuation of American citizens from Lebanon if the US ordered such an evacuation.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)?promised a “harsh” and “painful” response?to the?assassination. Israel has not commented on the killing.

Read the full story.

Dozens of rockets have been fired from Lebanon toward Israeli territory, the Israel Defense Forces said late Thursday, but the military estimated that just five crossed into Israel.?

There are no reports of damage or injuries.

Hezbollah later confirmed it launched dozens of Katyusha rockets at the Matzuva settlement in northern Israel.

Earlier, sirens sounded across various communities in the western Galilee region, after two days without launches detected from Lebanon.

The IDF said shortly after the launches were carried out, Israeli planes “struck the Hezbollah launcher from which the projectiles were launched in the area of Yater in southern Lebanon.”

It added that IDF artillery had fired to remove threats in the areas of Rmaych and Ramyeh in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech Thursday that the group would resume confrontations on the border, but they should not be “mistaken” for the promised response to the killing of Hezbollah’s most senior military commander, Fu’ad Shukr, on Tuesday.

Remember: Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Islamist movement with one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East, operates out of southern Lebanon.

The recent killing of three high-profile figures in Iran-backed militant groups, which have had repeated clashes with Israel throughout its war in Gaza, has raised fears of a broader Middle East conflict.

This post has been updated to reflect that Hezbollah has taken responsibility for the attack.

Iranians follow a truck carrying the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel during their funeral ceremony in Tehran, Iran, on August 1.

The body of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Doha on Thursday from Iran in preparation for his burial on Friday, videos obtained by CNN show.

Haniyeh’s funeral prayer will be held after the Friday prayer at the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque in the Qatari capital, followed by the burial at the Imam Founder Cemetery in the city of Lusail, according to Hamas and Qatari state media.

Video obtained by CNN showed Haniyeh’s wife, known as Umm al-Abed, crying over the coffin and mourning her husband.

“You strengthened us every day, making us as strong and determined as iron. We owe it all to you,” she said.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah appears on a screen as he addresses his supporters, during the funeral of Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr, in Lebanon on August 1.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has vowed a response to Israel’s attack in southern Beirut earlier this week, which killed the group’s top commander Fu’ad Shukr and at least five civilians, including two children, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

“This was not just an assassination operation. This was an assault,” Nasrallah said in a fiery speech Thursday afternoon during a funeral procession for Shukr in southern Beirut.

Nasrallah said the response would go beyond the scope of the daily border skirmishes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces that have been ongoing during Israel’s war with Hamas, adding that the retaliation will be “studied.”

He stopped short of declaring war but said Israel had crossed “red lines” in Beirut, as well as in Tehran with the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, which Iran and Hamas blamed on Israel. Israel has not confirmed or denied responsibility for the killing.

“They’ve picked a fight with all of us,” Nasrallah said, referring to the Iran-backed network of armed groups that spans Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iraq.

“On all supportive fronts, we have now entered a new?phase, different than the past?phase,” he said, referring to the Iran-backed axis.

Remember: Shukr is one of three high-profile figure in Iran-backed militant groups to be killed in recent weeks.

Haniyeh was killed Wednesday by an explosive device planted?two months before the explosion, a source tells CNN. And Israel says a strike last month in Gaza?killed Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’ military wing.

Israeli airstrikes on a shelter in Shujaya, central Gaza, killed at least 15 Palestinians and injured dozens more people on Thursday, according to the Gaza Civil Defense.

Three missiles struck the Dalal al-Mughrabi school, where many hundreds of displaced people had sought refuge, according to Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal. He added that the strikes “targeted a school that houses large numbers of civilians.”

The Israeli military confirmed the attack, claiming the school “was used by Hamas as a hideout for commanders and operatives and to plan terror attacks against the State of Israel.” CNN cannot independently verify the IDF statement.

Video obtained by CNN filming the arrival of casualties at the nearby Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital showed donkey carts rushing through the courtyard to evacuate the dead and wounded.

A recent Israeli military incursion in the neighborhood had already severely damaged the Dalal al-Mughrabi school and an adjacent school, but hundreds of desperate Palestinians had returned to build makeshift shelters there.

In a separate attack, two children were reported killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, also in central Gaza. The bodies of the two children were taken to the local Al-Awda Hospital. Footage obtained by CNN shows Palestinians carrying shellshocked children, with their screams filling the corridors of the medical facility.

Khader Al-Za’anoun of WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency, contributed reporting from Gaza City.

Dozens of journalists held press badges and pictures of their colleagues Ismail Al-Ghoul and Rami Al-Rifi who were killed in an airstrike earlier this week, during a protest in Gaza City, on Thursday.

About a dozen Palestinian journalists coalesced outside Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in northern Gaza on Thursday to protest against the killing of their colleagues in a reported Israeli airstrike earlier this week.

CNN footage from the demonstration showed reporters wearing their blue press vests and lining the courtyard of the medical facility, east of Gaza City. The sound of Israeli drones cuts through overhead.

Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif and others paid tribute to their late colleagues, carrying photos and slogans that read: “Journalism is not a crime.”

Calls for press freedom: The vigil came a day after Al Jazeera staffers Ismail Al-Ghoul and Rami Al-Rifi, both aged 27, were killed in a reported Israeli strike while on assignment in Al-Shati refugee camp, sparking condemnation from advocacy groups in what has been the deadliest period for journalists since 1992.

A third Palestinian, 16-year-old Khaled Al-Shawa, was also killed in the strike on Wednesday, according to local reporters. The teenager had been riding his orange bicycle to deliver food for an elderly resident in the neighborhood before he was killed, according to Saudi-backed broadcaster?Al-Arabiya

Khader Al-Za’anoun of WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency, also contributed reporting from Gaza City.

Ismail Haniyeh speaks to the press in Tehran on March 26.

Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Wednesday using an explosive device that had been covertly hidden weeks prior, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.

The bomb was concealed in a guest house where Haniyeh was known to stay about two months ago and detonated remotely once he was inside his room there, according to the source, who was briefed on the operation.

The New York Times was first to report the details of Haniyeh’s assassination.

The Iranian government and Hamas say Israel carried out the assassination. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.

US officials were briefed on the operation by Israeli officials only after the assassination, the source said.

Iranian state media and Hamas previously indicated Haniyeh was killed via a rocket fired from outside the building.

But the fact that the bomb was smuggled inside the guest house, which was under the protection of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, indicates a startling breach of security for the IRGC.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday: “You killed our dear guest in our house and now have paved the way for your harsh punishment.”

CNN is asking the Iranian government for reaction to this new reporting.

Blow to Hamas: Haniyeh’s death is, both strategically and symbolically, a dramatic blow to Hamas, eliminating its most public figure who headed up the group’s political operations while living overseas.

His killing also sparked concerns over stalled negotiations to reach a deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israeli attacks have killed 39,840 Palestinians and razed patches of land into rubble-filled wasteland. Haniyeh played a leading role representing Hamas in months-long truce talks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in Jerusalem on July 16.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is on “very high alert,” after a barrage of attacks against its adversaries on multiple fronts in the region sparked fears of a wider war.

How we got here: The assassinations of two high-profile Iran-backed leaders in the past week has caused ripples across the Middle East. Hamas on Wednesday said Israel killed its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Israel has not confirmed or denied killing Haniyeh.

It came hours after Israel claimed a strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut that killed a senior Hezbollah commander who it blamed for a deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the weekend.

Then on Thursday, the Israeli military said it had killed Hamas’ military leader Mohammed Deif in a July 13 airstrike in southern Gaza. The Israeli assault on Al-Mawasi killed at least 90 Palestinians and left a trail of mass carnage.

Commenting on reports of Deif’s death, Netanyahu said: “He was Israel’s number one wanted man for years. His elimination reinforces the simple principle we have established: those who harm us — we will harm them.”

A portrait of Fu'ad Shukr is displayed during a vigil in Najaf, Iraq, on Thursday.

The leader of Hezbollah has warned the militant group will definitely respond to avenge the killing of its commander in an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday.

“The enemy, and those behind our enemy, should wait for our definite response,” Nasrallah said, adding “there is not discussion or debate … We are looking for a real response, not a symbolic one.”

Some context: Nasrallah made the remarks after the funeral for Fu’ad Shukr, who Israel blamed for a deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Nasrallah denied that Hezbollah was behind the assault.

The killing of two high ranking officials of Iranian-backed groups in recent days marked the latest regional escalation during Israel’s war in Gaza.

People watch from a cafe in Beirut a broadcast of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah speaking on Thursday.

The leader of Hezbollah has warned Israel “doesn’t realized the red lines it has crossed,” following a spate of Israeli attacks on multiple fronts in the Middle East.

“On all supportive fronts, we have now entered a new phase, different than the past phase,” the paramilitary group’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, said in a speech in Lebanon on Thursday. The fronts Nasrallah references involve Iran-backed groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Nasrallah also rejected Israel’s accusation that the militant group orchestrated a deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday, saying Hezbollah’s “internal investigations” show that the group “have nothing to do” with the assault.

The rocket blast tore through the town of Majdal Shams and killed at least 12 people. The children killed in the strike had been playing on a soccer field, according to a list from Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and residents who spoke to CNN.?

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah paid tribute to the slain Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh, as he delivered a speech on Thursday.

Nasrallah made the remarks off the back of the funeral for the Hezbollah commander Fu’ad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut on Tuesday.

Israel had blamed Hezbollah for a deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the weekend.

The killing of two leaders of Iranian-backed groups this week marked the latest regional flare-up, as Israel’s war in Gaza rages on.

Israel claimed credit for the assassination of Shukr, but has not confirmed nor denied a role in the death of Haniyeh in Tehran early Wednesday.

Pictures of Fu'ad Shukr are placed on chairs ahead of his funeral in Beirut on Thursday.

The funeral of Hezbollah top commander Fu’ad Shukr has started in Lebanon’s capital of Beirut on Thursday.

Hezbollah Secretary General Hasan Nassrallah is expected to deliver a speech at 4 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET).

Israel said it killed Shukr, Hezbollah’s most senior military commander, who it blamed for a deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Hezbollah confirmed the death of Shukr.

Iran's acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani speaks at the United Nations in New York on July 16.

Iran’s acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani spoke with several regional counterparts to discuss the assassination of Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh as concerns mount over escalating tensions between Iran and Israel.

Iran has accused Israel of assassinating Haniyeh in his northern Tehran residence on Wednesday. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Kani spoke separately with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi.

Iran’s acting foreign minister told his Saudi counterpart that Iran will use its “legitimate right to take remorseful and decisive action against” Israel.

Kani told the Qatari prime minister that Israel attacked Iran’s national security by killing Haniyeh, an “official guest” who was in Iran attending the inauguration of the Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian. ?

Speaking to the Turkish foreign minister, Kani said that the attack in Iran will pose “serious threats to regional security and stability.”

A member of Hamas’ political bureau insisted that only the military arm could confirm or deny the death of Mohammed Deif in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza in July.

Izzat Al Rishq posted on Telegram that “confirming or denying the martyrdom of any of the Qassam leaders is the responsibility of the Qassam Brigades leadership and the movement leadership.”

“Unless either of them announces it, no news published in the media or by any other parties can be confirmed,” Al Rishq added.?

It came after the Israeli military said its fighter jets killed Hamas’ military chief in July, who is understood to be one of the masterminds behind the October 7 attacks. The Israeli killed at least 90 Palestinians and injured 300 people in Al-Mawasi, according to Gazan health officials, leaving a trail of mass carnage in its wake.

Relatives mourn family members killed in an Israeli airstrike, outside a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on August 1.

At least eight people lining up for aid at a Gaza refugee camp were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday, according to Palestinian witnesses. Two children and their mother were also injured in the attack and the dead and injured were brought to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, according to CNN footage.

CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment on the strike.?

The video showed generations of Palestinian men flocking outside the hospital in Deir al-Balah. Pools of blood streaked the floors of the medical facility. Mourners cowered over shrouded bodies, delicately kissing the deceased and wailing in disbelief.??

Nidal Abdo speaks to CNN outside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital on August 1.

In another scene, rows of worshippers stood to perform Janazah, the Islamic funeral prayers. Echoes of “Allahu Akbar,” which means “God is greater” in Arabic, filled a courtyard of the refugee camp. Young girls and boys wearing shoes covered in dust crouched near the ceremony, their eyes tired with grief.?

“We want to live in dignity like the rest of the world,” added Abdo. “We are in a genocide… We beg for everyone to stop this war.”?

Mohammad Al-Sawalhi contributed reporting from Gaza. Dana Karni contributed reporting.?

A screengrab taken from a handout video provided by the Israel Defense Forces, which purportedly shows the moment Mohammed Deif was killed in an airstrike in Khan Younis.

Israel on Thursday said it killed Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’ military wing and a key architect of the October 7 attacks, last month. The announcement followed the death of two other high-profile leaders of Iran-backed militant groups – notably Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh – in the past few days.

The Israeli military said it killed Deif on July 13 in a strike on Khan Younis. Those same attacks also killed at least 90 Palestinians in the sprawling tent city of Al-Mawasi. CNN reached out to Hamas to confirm Deif’s death but has not heard back.

Israel has claimed the death of Hezbollah commander Fu’ad Shukr in Beirut, but has not confirmed or denied a role in Haniyeh’s death in Tehran, which Iran and Hamas has blamed on the Israelis.

Here’s what to know:

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said the killing of Hamas’ military chief is a “significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing authority in Gaza.”

The Israeli military said they killed Mohammed Deif in an airstrike in Khan Younis in July.

Deif’s death would be the killing of the highest-ranking Hamas military official in Gaza since the start of the war. CNN has contacted Hamas for comment.

The Israeli attack on him killed at least 90 Palestinians in Al-Mawasi, half of whom were women and children, according to Gazan health officials. At the time, a UN worker described the aftermath as “the most horrific scenes I have seen in my nine months in Gaza.”

An undated photo of Mohammad Deif.

The Israeli military said Thursday that its fighter jets killed Hamas’ military chief in Gaza – Mohammed Deif – in a strike in Khan Younis on July 13.

Israel’s confirmation that Deif was killed in southern Gaza came nearly three weeks after it carried out the strike, which killed at least 90 Palestinians in the sprawling tent city of Al-Mawasi.

Footage from Al-Mawasi, which has been designated as a safe zone for Palestinians fleeing the fighting elsewhere, showed bodies in the street and destroyed tents.

What does Israel say? An Israeli military official told CNN they recently received new intelligence that gave them the confidence to confirm Deif was killed in the airstrike, but declined to specify the nature of that intelligence.

The Israeli military said that they launched a “precise, targeted strike” where Deif was staying, adding that “additional terrorist operatives were also eliminated during the strike.” CNN cannot independently verify IDF statements.

At the time of the attack, Israeli officials said they had indications their strike was successful but were not able to confirm that he was killed until now.

Who is Mohammed Deif? Deif is understood to be one of the masterminds behind the Hamas-led October 7 attacks into southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and another 250 abducted.

A man carries the body of a victim following an Israeli strike, in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza, on July 27.

Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed at least 35 Palestinians and wounded another 55 people in the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry in the enclave.

“A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them,” the ministry said.

Nearly 300 days of the Israeli military campaign has killed 39,480?Palestinians and wounded another 91,128 people.

Women mourn over the shrouded bodies of three children killed in an Israeli bombing in Deir el-Balah, Gaza, on July 13.

CNN is unable to confirm the figures, partly because Gaza is largely inaccessible to international media. Both Israel and Egypt, which control Gaza’s borders, have refused to give international journalists unfettered access to the strip, saying that they cannot guarantee?their safety.

Antony Blinken speaks in Singapore, on July 31.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged all parties in the Middle East not to take “escalatory actions” a day after Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated.

Blinken said he couldn’t predict the effect of “any one event on what comes next,” but a “ceasefire to have an end to the conflict in Gaza to produce calm in the north, between Israel and Lebanon” was in the interest of everyone.

All parties need to find “reasons to come to an agreement, not to look for reasons to delay or say no to the agreement,” he said.

Blinken said he has been talking to his colleagues throughout the region over the last 24 hours and they were all focused on reaching a ceasefire.?

He also expressed confidence that a deal could still be reached because it is “imperative that we do so.”

Remember: Haniyeh was the second figure of an Iran-backed group killed within days, following Israel’s killing of a senior Hezbollah commander?in southern Beirut in Lebanon.

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 this year’s peace ceremony commemorating the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki to promote a “peaceful and somber atmosphere” at the August 9 event, the city’s mayor said.

The decision contrasts with that of?Hiroshima, whose authorities told CNN last month they had no intention of retracting Israel’s invitation to their own peace event, despite calls for the country to be sidelined.

Both cities had been under pressure from activists and bomb survivor groups to exclude Israel due to its?assault on Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since Israel began targeting Hamas following the militant group’s October 7 attack.

Nagasaki’s mayor Shiro Suzuki said that Israel’s exclusion was due to security concerns and was not a political decision.

Read the full story.

Iranians attend the memorial procession of assassinated Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh in?Tehran, Iran, on August 1.

The coffins of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard are being moved in a procession through Iran’s capital Tehran.

Thousands of mourners are lining the streets.

The procession is due to go from Tehran University towards Azadi Square, according to Iranian news agency Mehr News, a distance of about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles).

Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei speaks at service for Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran on August 1.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is leading a prayer service in Tehran for assassinated Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.?

The prayer service is taking place at Tehran University in Iran’s capital.

Hamas spokesperson and deputy head Khalil Al-Hayya has spoken at the service for assassinated Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran.

Live pictures show the coffin of Haniyeh draped in a Palestinian flag along with his photo.

Thousands have gathered at the site, many of them holding Palestinian and Iranian flags, as well as placards bearing Haniyeh’s face.

Iranians attend the memorial procession of assassinated Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh in?Tehran, Iran, on August 1.

Thousands have gathered in the Iranian capital, Tehran, at a memorial service for assassinated Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

A procession is scheduled to start at Tehran University and will head towards Azadi Square, according to Iranian news agency Mehr News.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will lead prayers for Haniyeh today, according to Iranian state media, and the country has announced three days of public mourning.

According to live pictures of the service, thousands were seen gathered together to listen to Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament.

Many in the crowd were seen waving the Palestinian and Iranian flags as well as the yellow flag of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Haniyeh will be buried in Qatar’s capital, Doha, on Friday, Hamas said.?Before his assassination, Haniyeh spent the majority of his time in Doha, where Hamas had a political office.

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 vowed to avenge the death of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran yesterday.?

Hamas said Haniyeh was killed?in an Israeli strike, but Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind Haniyeh’s assassination.?

The killing is a major escalation of conflict in the region that throws it into an unpredictable and dangerous new phase.

Haniyeh was the second figure of an Iran-backed group assassinated in recent days, following Israel’s killing of a senior Hezbollah commander?in Lebanon.

Iran’s supreme leader will lead memorial prayers for Haniyeh today, according to Iranian state media.

Here’s what to know.

Here are the latest developments stoking tensions in the region:

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 memorial 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.

Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Saeed Iravani speaks at the United Nations headquarters on May 30, in New York City.?

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 Haniyeh?was killed by Israel, and Iran has vowed to avenge his death. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind Haniyeh’s assassination.

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.”

The assassination of the Hamas’ political leader has plunged the Middle East into fresh crisis and dented already slim hopes of an end to the war between Israel and the militant group that rules Gaza anytime soon.

Hamas on Wednesday said Israel killed its political leader,?Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, Iran, hours after Israel claimed a strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut that killed a senior Hezbollah commander who it blamed for a deadly attack in the?Israeli-occupied Golan Heights?over the weekend. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for Haniyeh’s killing.

Future of ceasefire talks unclear:?Months of negotiations on a deal to end the war in Gaza and free the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas had already hit repeated roadblocks before Haniyeh, a key player in the talks, was killed.

As recently as early July, Haniyeh was in touch with mediators in Qatar and Egypt to discuss ideas on ending the war, sparking some hope that the two sides could be on the brink of a framework agreement. All of that could now be thrown up in the air by his death.

A source with knowledge of the negotiations told CNN Wednesday that Haniyeh’s assassination could “complicate mediation talks.” The source said Haniyeh was a “key decision-maker,” along with Hamas’ military leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.

“He was someone who saw the value of a deal and was instrumental to getting certain breakthroughs in the talks,” the source said, adding that “at this stage, it’s unclear what the effect will be on ceasefire talks.”

Read more about the?implications his assassination could have.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during an address on July 31.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed his nation Wednesday after the deaths of Hamas political leader?Ismail Haniyeh?and?senior Hezbollah commander?Fu’ad Shukr.

Israel has delivered “crushing blows” to its enemies in the last few days, he said in a televised statement.

Netanyahu said Israel is facing “challenging days.”

“These are challenging days. There are threats From Beirut. We are ready for any scenario. We are prepared,” he said.

He noted his determination to keep the fight going until the aims of the war were achieved. Netanyahu referenced previous calls he has received to end the war in Gaza, saying, “I did not give in then and I am not giving in today.”

Netanyahu did not mention the death of Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind Haniyeh’s assassination.

Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hama, arrives for the inauguration of the new Iranian President at the parliament in Tehran, on July 30.

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

After he celebrated seeing his fighters return to Gaza with Israeli equipment in Hamas’?office in Istanbul, Turkey?on October 7, 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 attended 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. Qatar and Egypt have shepherded that negotiation process, which is still ongoing.??

Doha:?As Israel’s 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 would only make Hamas more steadfast in its principles, adding that Hamas will not surrender and will not compromise, no matter how great the sacrifice.