Shock, anger: Palestinians in Gaza react to Haniyeh’s assassination

Displaced Palestinians describe a Hamas leader who was approachable and say his death shows how everyone is a target.

Deir el-Balah, Gaza, Palestine – Palestinians living in displacement camps in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip expressed anger, sadness and despair after the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

The leader was killed early on Wednesday in what the Palestinian group described as “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence”.

Saleh al-Shannat, 67, who was displaced from Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza said the news was “heartbreaking”.

“Ismail Haniyeh was a Palestinian leader, not just a Hamas leader. He was a former prime minister in the Palestinian unity government and a peaceful leader. His loss is immense for us,” he told Al Jazeera, referring to how Haniyeh briefly served as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority’s government in 2006.

“Palestinians lost a great leader,” the father of 12 said as tears streamed down his face.

Through his work on a mediation committee that resolves local disputes, al-Shannat met and knew Haniyeh.

“I knew him personally,” he said. “He never turned away questions and always sought to serve the people and their interests.”

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the assassination although Israeli Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu celebrated Haniyeh’s death in a post on X.

“Israel will only be deterred by the language of force,” al-Shannat said. “It does not understand dialogue, peace or negotiations, and it continues its war of annihilation in Gaza.”

‘The world is tired of us’

Abdul Salam al-Bik, 47, who was displaced from the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City said he was shocked upon hearing the news and has been despondent since.

“Ismail Haniyeh was a Palestinian man before he was a leader,” he said. “Yet his assassination today makes him a statistic among the countless people who have become mere numbers after their deaths.”

He said he does not believe the assassination will lead to any change on the ground or move forward efforts to secure a ceasefire.

“Killing women, children and the elderly won’t change anything either. Even if the entire Palestinian population is annihilated, no one will move,” he said. “As a Palestinian citizen, I feel that the world is tired of us. Arab and foreign regimes are tired of our news.”

He continued: “We’ve lost national leaders and societal elites, and we continue to lose them. The war is not against Hamas. It’s against everything Palestinian – even the water and air we breathe. Despair is the prevailing sentiment.”

‘We never felt he was a distant leader’

Zahwa al-Samouni, 62, who lives with her family of 16 in a makeshift camp, reacted with sorrow to the news.

“Ismail Haniyeh was very close to the people before he left Gaza for Qatar. He was peaceful, engaged with people on the street, shared in their joys and sorrows, and we often saw him at the mosques,” she said.

“He would greet us while walking by the seashore in the mornings. We never felt that he was a distant leader.”

Although she doesn’t support Hamas, al-Samouni believes that Haniyeh’s assassination is “a loss for all Palestinians”.

“There were allegations that he lived comfortably with his family in Qatar and Turkey, and they left, abandoning Gaza and its people, but we were surprised three of his sons and four of his grandchildren were [killed] in Israeli bombings during the war, proving those rumours false. Now, he was targeted personally,” she said.

“Israel does not differentiate between leaders, fighters or civilians. I’m a displaced civilian, and I could be targeted at any moment.”

Al-Samouni appealed to the international community to take action to stop Israel’s war on Gaza, which began on October 7 and has killed at least 39,445 Palestinians.

“Enough of what is happening. This will not stop with Haniyeh or anyone else. It will continue until we are all exterminated.”

‘Did anyone act?’

Nour Abu Salama, 41, a mother of seven who was displaced from the city of Jabalia in northern Gaza, also felt a sense of despair.

“The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh was a tragedy for us. He was a political leader, not a military one, and he was negotiating to end the war,” she said.

“Despite my personal disagreements with Hamas, many Palestinians mourned his loss because he was known to be close to the people and engaged in their social lives.”

Salama expected little condemnation or action from the international community.

“Did anyone act when thousands of women and children were killed in Gaza? Did anyone act when they saw us living a life of humiliation and suffering in tents?” she asked.

“Will anyone be moved by the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh now? Certainly not.”