Israel’s government has said little on the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, but the news of his death was welcomed by Israelis who saw it as a major achievement in the fight against the group, Reuters reports.
“Ismail Haniyeh eliminated in Tehran,” read an identical banner stamped on the near-nonstop news coverage by the country’s four leading television channels on Wednesday morning.
In much of Israel there was a mood of satisfaction, a day after Israel’s military said it killed one of the most senior leaders of Hezbollah in Beirut in retaliation for a deadly attack in the Israel-occupied Golan Heights.
“This is an amazing achievement of intelligence linked to operations, that lead to the result,” Amos Gilad, a former senior defense official, said on Channel 12. “Regarding the performance we can say it was impressive, whoever carried it out.”
The government’s press office posted an image of Haniyeh on Facebook with the word “eliminated” pasted on his forehead.
A couple of junior ministers not part of the inner circle of security officials making strategic decisions took to social media to celebrate the operation, which Israel has not officially claimed.
