Iranian Leader Orders Direct Strike On Israel Following Hamas Chief’s Killing, Per Report

Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , has ordered a direct strike on Israel following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The Times reported, according to three sources, “Mr. Khamenei gave the order at an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning, shortly after Iran announced that Mr. Haniyeh had been killed, said the three Iranian officials, including two members of the Revolutionary Guards. They asked that their names not be published because they were not authorized to speak publicly.”

Haniyeh was killed on Tuesday while in Iran and has long been a top target of Israel and the U.S. after Hamas planned and carried out the brutal attacks on southern Israel on October 7th.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed his country on Wednesday and said that Israel’s enemies “will exact a very heavy price from any aggression against us on any front” but never spoke directly of the killing of Haniyeh.

“There are challenging days ahead,” Netanyahu added. The IDF has continued to target senior Hezbollah and Hamas leaders throughout the Middle East, including in Beirut this week. The targeted killings of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, deemed terrorists by the U.S., has tipped the region closer to all-out war between Iran’s proxies and Israel. Netanyahu vowed to fight Iran on various fronts, including in Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq — where it supports militant groups.

Iran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel earlier in the year, but Israel’s advanced defense systems shot down most of Iran’s projectiles, resulting in minimal damage in Israel.

This is a developing story and has been updated.