Ismail Haniyeh

**Ismail Abdel Salam Ahmed Haniyeh** (; 1962/1963 – 31 July 2024) was a senior political leader of Hamas. He was the disputed Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority. In September 2017, he became Chief of Hamas's Political Bureau.

## Personal and family life

Haniyeh is married to Amal Haniyeh and the couple have 13 children. In 2009, the family lived in Al-Shati refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. In 2010, the couple shifted to the Rimla neighborhood in Gaza City. In 2020, He went to Qasem Soleimani's funeral, in Tehran, Iran.

After visiting some other countries he decided to permanently reside in Doha, Qatar. His family joined him there in 2021.
On 17 October 2023, during Israel–Hamas war an airstrike by Israeli forces in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City reportedly killed 14 Palestinians, Haniyeh's brother and nephew were among the victims while several other family members were also injured. Three of his sons and three grandchildren were killed in the Gaza Strip on 10 April 2024.

## Views

Haniyeh was seen as someone in Hamas who thought practically.

Haniyeh was a relative moderate within Hamas and had repeatedly offered a peace deal in exchange for a fully sovereign Palestinian state on the land that Israel did not occupy until 1967.

### Osama bin Laden

On 2 May 2011, Osama bin Laden was killed by the U.S. Military, and the killing of Osama was praised by Fatah who is one of Hamas' rival groups. Haniyeh however called bin Laden a "Arab holy warrior" and condemned his killing as "the continuation of the American oppression and shedding of blood of Muslims and Arabs". Analysts say that he praised bin Laden to cool down Salafist groups in the Gaza Strip such as Jaysh al-Ummah al-Salafi Bayt al-Maqdis, which see Hamas as too moderate. The United States said that Haniyeh's speech condemning the killing of bin Laden and calling bin Laden a "Arab holy warrior" were outrageous and said that bin Laden did not die a martyr.

## Death

On 31 July 2024, Haniyeh was killed in Tehran as he went to the inauguration of Masoud Pezeshkian as President of Iran. Hamas said that he was killed by a "Zionist" airstrike on a residence. He was 62 years old.
According to _The New York Times_, Haniyeh was killed by using a remotely detonated bomb hidden in his guesthouse room two months earlier, which was triggered once it was known that he was inside.

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Ismail Haniyeh
- **image**: Ismail Haniyeh 2024 portrait 3x4.jpg
- **caption**: Haniyeh in July 2024
- **office**: Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau
- **term start**: 6 May 2017
- **term end**: 31 July 2024
- **deputy**: Saleh al-Arouri
- **predecessor**: Khaled Mashal
- **office1**: Governance of the Gaza Strip, De facto ruler of the Gaza Strip
<small>Disputed</small>
- **term start1**: 2 June 2014
- **term end1**: 13 February 2017
- **predecessor1**: New creation
- **successor1**: Yahya Sinwar
- **office2**: Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority
<small>Disputed</small>
- **term start2**: 29 March 2006*
- **term end2**: 2 June 2014
- **predecessor2**: Ahmed Qurei
- **president1**: Mahmoud Abbas
Aziz Dweik
- **successor2**: Rami Hamdallah
- **footnotes**: *Haniyeh was dismissed on 14 June 2007 by Abbas, who appointed Fayyad instead. This was deemed illegal by the Palestinian Legislative Council, Legislative Council, which continued to recognise Haniyeh. The Palestinian National Authority, Palestinian Authority govern the West Bank while Hamas govern the Gaza Strip. A Palestinian unity government of 2014, unity government was formed in 2014.
- **party**: Hamas
- **birth date**: 1962 or 1963
- **birth place**: Al-Shati (camp), Al-Shati refugee camp, Gaza Strip
- **death date**: (aged 61–62)
- **death place**: Tehran, Iran
- **alma mater**: Islamic University of Gaza
- **nationality**: Palestinian
- **children**: 13 (3 deceased)
- **residence**: Doha, Qatar
- **relations**: Amal Haniyeh (wife)
- **native name**: <div style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal; font-size:85%;">إِسْمَاعِيل هَنِيَّة</div>
- **native name lang**: ar
- **citizenship**: Palestinian National Authority, Palestine
- **termstart**: 6 May 2017
- **termend**: 31 July 2024
- **termend2**: 2 June 2014