Deir el-Balah, Gaza, Palestine – Palestinians living in the Deir el-Balah displacement camps in the central Gaza Strip have expressed anger, sadness and despair following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
The leader was killed early 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 of the Palestinian unity government and a peaceful leader. His loss is huge for us,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune, referring to Haniyeh’s brief stint as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority government in 2006.
“The Palestinians have lost a great leader,” the father of 12 said, tears in his eyes.
Through his work on a mediation committee that resolves local conflicts, al-Shannat met and knew Haniyeh.
“I knew him personally,” he said. “He never refused 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 message 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 Gaza’s Zeitoun neighborhood, said he was shocked when he heard the news and has been discouraged ever since.
“Ismail Haniyeh was a Palestinian before he was a leader,” he said. “Yet his assassination makes him a statistic among countless people who are mere numbers after their death.”
He said he did not believe the assassination would bring about any change on the ground or advance efforts to secure a ceasefire.
“Killing women, children and the elderly will not change anything either. Even if the entire Palestinian population is wiped out, no one will move,” he said. “As a Palestinian citizen, I feel that the world is tired of us. The Arab and foreign regimes are tired of our information.”
He continued: “We have lost national leaders and social elites, and we continue to lose them. The war is not against Hamas. It is against everything Palestinian – even the water and air we breathe. Despair is the dominant feeling.”
“We never felt like he was a distant leader.”
Zahwa al-Samouni, 62, who lives with her family of 16 in a makeshift camp, reacted with sadness to the news.
“Ismail Haniyeh was very close to the people before he left Gaza for Qatar. He was peaceful, he engaged with people on the streets, sharing their joys and sorrows, and we often saw him in mosques,” she said.
“He would greet us in the morning when we were walking by the sea. We never felt like he was a distant leader.”
Although she does not support Hamas, al-Samouni believes that Haniyeh’s assassination is “a loss for all Palestinians.”
“There were rumors that he was living comfortably with his family in Qatar and Turkey, and they left, abandoning Gaza and its people, but we were surprised that three of his sons and four of his grandchildren were killed in Israeli bombings during the war, proving that these rumors were false. He has now been personally targeted,” she said.
“Israel does not distinguish between leaders, fighters and civilians. I am a displaced civilian and I can be targeted at any time.”
Al-Samouni called on the international community to take steps to end Israel’s war on Gaza, which began on October 7 and has killed at least 39,445 Palestinians.
“What is happening has gone on long enough. It will not stop with Haniyeh or anyone else. It will continue until we are all exterminated.”
“Did anyone take action?”
Nour Abu Salama, 41, a mother of seven displaced from the northern Gaza town of Jabalia, also felt a sense of despair.
“The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh was a tragedy for us. He was a political leader, not a military man, 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 for being close to the people and involved in their social life.”
Salama expected little condemnation or action from the international community.
“Did anyone react when thousands of women and children were killed in Gaza? Did anyone react 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? Certainly not.”
