Doha, Qatar – Thousands of people participated in the funeral prayer for the deceased Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Friday at Doha’s Grand Mosque under tight security. The funeral prayer was attended by representatives from various Palestinian factions, diaspora groups, diplomatic dignitaries, and nationals from many countries. Haniyeh was buried at the Lusail Royal Cemetery north of the capital Doha on Friday afternoon.
Symbolic funeral prayers for Haniyeh have been organized in several Muslim countries, including Yemen, Jordan, and Turkey. Streams of mourners began arriving at the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque at 9 AM, more than two hours before the Friday prayers, to bid farewell to Hamas’ political leader, who was killed in the Iranian capital Tehran early Wednesday morning.
Men and women, many wearing keffiyehs—the traditional Palestinian scarf—and carrying Palestinian flags, attended the funeral prayer despite Doha’s scorching heat, which was around 45 degrees Celsius (about 113 degrees Fahrenheit). His body was brought to Doha on Thursday following a memorial service in Tehran, attended by thousands where funeral prayers were led by the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranians waved Palestinian flags and held images of the 62-year-old Hamas leader during the funeral procession.
Haniyeh, who served as Hamas’ diplomatic face in Qatar, was killed at his residence in Tehran while attending the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Israel has not publicly claimed responsibility for the assassination. Fuad Shukr, a senior leader from the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, was also killed by Israel just hours before Haniyeh’s murder.
Hassan Abu Dhr, who lost a leg and an arm in an Israeli bombing in the Bureij refugee camp in Gaza last November, attended the funeral prayer to honor Haniyeh. “We are in mourning. We feel very sad about his killing. He was like a father to us,” said the 24-year-old, who was evacuated to Qatar for medical treatment. “Ismail Haniyeh was Gaza’s pride. We trusted him; he was the best leader for Gaza.”
Syed Ziaullah, a Pakistani citizen, also participated in the funeral prayer. “I am here for him; it is a fraternity relationship among Muslims,” Ziaullah stated. “He is a martyr and a patriot who fought to free Palestine from Israeli occupation.” Several attendees came from various countries, including Sudan, India, and Bangladesh. Many expressed solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, who have faced Israeli bombardment over the past 10 months, resulting in the flattening of large parts of Gaza and nearly 40,000 deaths since the start of the Israeli military offensive on October 7, initiated after an attack led by Hamas.
“I am here to support Palestine and our people, who have been subjected to genocide for the last 300 days. I am here because I am saddened by Ismail Haniyeh’s death and the deaths of [Al Jazeera’s] Ismail al-Ghoul and his colleague Rami al-Rifi,” said 32-year-old Sara Abdelshafy. Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi were killed in an Israeli strike in northern Gaza on Wednesday.
Haniyeh was a prominent figure regarded as accessible and approachable by many in Gaza. His popularity is partly attributed to his status as a typical Palestinian from the Gaza Strip, said Fathi Nimer, a Palestinian political researcher at Al-Shabaka, a think tank based in the occupied West Bank. “He was a refugee born in the Shati refugee camp… most Palestinians are refugees, especially those in Gaza. His family was ethnically cleansed from Asqalan (Ashkelon, in present-day Israel). What made him very relatable to the people is that he attended a UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) school and worked to support his family,” Nimer explained.
Haniyeh joined Hamas as a student and quickly rose through the ranks to become Palestine’s only democratically elected Prime Minister in 2006 at the age of 44. Although he had been living outside of Gaza since 2019, he was not shielded from the destruction of Israel’s war. Around 60 members of his family have been killed, including three of his sons in April, as well as his grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.
“Through the blood of the martyrs and the wounded, we create hope, we create a future, we create independence and freedom for our people and our nation,” he stated in April. Haniyeh was a chief negotiator in efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. “Haniyeh was described as a moderate and pragmatist—someone capable of long-term planning and someone who could negotiate and handle the nuances of talks,” Nimer said. Haniyeh’s death will, according to him, “undoubtedly have negative consequences for [ceasefire] negotiations.”
Israel has previously targeted and killed several leaders of Hamas, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and other Palestinian groups. Haniyeh himself survived an Israeli assassination attempt in 2003 along with his mentor, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader and founder of Hamas. Nimer noted that recent assassinations could have repercussions for Israel. “When someone is killed, instead of erasing their memory, they make them a martyr—a hero for the people,” he said.