US not involved in Hamas chief Haniyeh's killing, says Blinken

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday (July 31) the United States was not involved in or made aware of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

“I’ve learned over many years, never to speculate on the impact one event may have on something else,” Blinken said in an interview with Channel News Asia during a visit to Singapore, when asked what impact the killing could have.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed Haniyeh’s death in Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday, hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for the country's new president.

Blinken, who has been in Asia since late last week, said a ceasefire and the release of hostages being held in Gaza was crucial and the United States would do everything to make that happen.

Israel invites 'harsh punishment', Khamenei says

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel had provided the grounds for "harsh punishment for itself" and it was Tehran's duty to avenge Haniyeh's death. Iranian forces have already made strikes directly on Israel earlier in the Gaza war.

Haniyeh's most likely successor is Khaled Meshaal, his deputy-in-exile who lives in Qatar, analysts and Hamas officials said.

Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told journalists that Israel was committed to Gaza ceasefire negotiations and securing the release of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza.

U.S. Secretary of State AntonyBlinken, in Singapore, sidestepped a question on Haniyeh's killing, saying a ceasefire deal in Gaza was key to avoiding wider regional escalation. He told Channel News Asia that the U.S. had neither been aware of nor involved in the killing.

Qatar, which along with Egypt has been brokering talks aimed at halting the fighting in Gaza, condemned Haniyeh's killing.

"How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on other side?" Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on X.

In Washington, Kirby said the ceasefire process had not been "completely torpedoed," adding that "we still believe the deal on the table is worth pursuing."

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters on Oct. 7 killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took some 250 hostages, Israeli tallies say.

Nearly 10 months of Israel's onslaught in the coastal enclave has killed more than 39,400 people, according to Gaza health officials, and left more than 2 million in a humanitarian crisis.

While the mood was buoyant in Israel, residents in besieged Gaza feared Haniyeh's death would prolong the fighting.

"This news is scary. We feel that he was like a father to us," said Gaza resident Hachem Al-Saati.