Gaza - August 01, 2024

Local residents in Gaza City of the war-torn Gaza Strip said that the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh was a deliberate sabotage of the ceasefire negotiation process and that Israel intended to drag the entire region into a new round of violent conflicts.

Early Wednesday morning, the residence of Haniyeh in Tehran was hit in an airstrike after he attended the inauguration of Iran's new president, resulting in the death of Haniyeh as one of Hamas' highest-ranking officials and a bodyguard.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps of Iran says Haniyeh was killed by an "air-launched guided projectile" that struck the building. The attack happened just hours after Israel's strike on Beirut, which killed Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr.

After the incident, a China Media Group (CMG) correspondent visited the former residence of Haniyeh at Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. Earlier in June, an Israeli air strike killed 10 members of Haniyeh's family here, including his younger sister, sons and grandchildren.

Residents at the camp fiercely condemned the attack.

Shotlist:
Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Aug 1, 2024:
1. Various of rubble, destroyed buildings in Al-Shati refugee camp;
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Sherif Hassouna, resident (ending with shots 3-4):
"The purpose of Israel's attack on Hamas [political] leader Ismail Haniyeh is to completely destroy all negotiation processes, eliminate all political positions that may help the Palestinian people find a solution, pull the plug on the negotiations among Hamas, Israel and related mediators and wipe out the possibility of the Palestinian people living a better life in the future.";
3. Street scene, garbage on road;
4. Rubble, destroyed buildings;
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud Al-Najjar, resident:
"If it weren't for the United States, Israel would not dare to attack Ismail Haniyeh. The United States must have played a big role in the attack. It was the United States that gave Israel the 'green light'.";
6. Child running in alley;
7. Street scene, vehicle on roadside;
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Yusri Al-Ghoul, political analyst:
"I think Israel is seeking to plunge the entire region into bloody conflict. When it bombed the port of Hodeidah in Yemen and killed Lebanese Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shokor and Hamas [political] leader Ismail Haniyeh, Israel wanted to fill the region with sanguinary conflicts. (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu really wants to achieve his victory, because there is a conflict between him and the army. The Israeli army in the Gaza Strip is already exhausted and military vehicles are constantly damaged and destroyed. And on the streets of Israel, there are more and wider demonstrations, demanding a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. I think Israel's actions may lead to a turn in another direction, towards more extreme bloody scenes.";
9. Rubble, destroyed buildings.

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