In the wake of Israel’s high-profile assassinations of Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander, and Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political chief, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah declared that the war with Israel has entered a “new phase.” Nasrallah’s statement came after the Israeli military announced the killing of Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif in an air raid on Gaza’s Khan Younis on 13 July.

The funeral for Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard was held in Tehran, with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leading the prayers. The ceremony, attended by high-ranking Iranian officials, including Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian and the Revolutionary Guards chief Gen Hossein Salami, featured speeches vowing revenge for Haniyeh’s death. Iranian state television broadcast images of mourners in black, carrying posters of Haniyeh and Palestinian flags, and chanting “death to Israel, death to America.”

The deaths of these key figures have escalated fears of a broader regional conflict. The New York Times reported that Iranian officials have claimed Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered direct strikes on Israel in retaliation, raising the specter of a wider war. The fighting in Gaza has already drawn in Iran-backed militant groups from Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, which have launched drones and missiles at Israeli and US assets.

The assassination of Haniyeh, who had been involved in ceasefire talks, complicates the fragile negotiations mediated by international actors. His death, during a visit for President Pezeshkian’s inauguration in Tehran, may stall progress in these talks, which were already facing challenges.

In its ongoing attacks on Gaza, Israel has killed at least 15 Palestinians in an airstrike on a school in Gaza, sheltering displaced civilians. Israel, with unconditional support from the United States, has killed at least 39,480 Palestinians, including 16,314 children, and wounded 91,128 other in Gaza since 7 October.