Israel-Gaza: Haniyeh's funeral held, Hezbollah vows 'a real response'

Thousands have gathered at Doha's Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque to pay their respects to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. After the Friday prayer and the subsequent funeral prayer, Haniyeh's body will be taken to the Lusail royal cemetery, north of the Qatari capital. 

Security measures are extremely high due to the presence of numerous state dignitaries from around the world, especially from Muslim countries. Leaders of Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Islamic Jihad, along with Haniyeh's family, are also present to pay their respects.

Türkiye and Pakistan announced a day of mourning on Friday to honor Haniyeh, while Hamas called for a "day of furious rage."

The Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv also lowered its flag to half-mast, a move that has been criticized by Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in a statement on X , "Representatives of the Turkish Embassy in Israel are invited to take down the flag completely and return home. shameful."

Increased risk of escalation

There has been an increased risk of an escalation into a broader Middle East war after the assassination of Haniyeh in Iran drew threats of retaliation against Israel.

"It doesn't help," Biden told reporters, when asked if Haniyeh's assassination ruined the chances for a ceasefire agreement.

The leader had participated in internationally-brokered indirect talks on reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.

U.S. President Biden also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and reaffirmed his commitment to Israel's security against threats from Iran and its proxy groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. 

They discussed U.S. efforts to support Israel's defense against threats like ballistic missiles and drones, including new defensive military deployments. Biden also emphasized the importance of ongoing efforts to de-escalate regional tensions. Vice President Kamala Harris joined the call.

Hezbollah vows 'a real response'

Lebanon's Hezbollah vowed a "definite" response to Israel's killing of its top military commander, saying the strike had crossed red lines and the decades-old rivalry between foes had entered a new phase.

"The resistance cannot but respond. This is definite," said Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, speaking in a televised address to mark the funeral of the commander, attended by mourners clad in black waving the group's yellow-and-green flag.

"We are looking for a real response, not a performative response, and for real opportunities. A studied response," Nasrallah said.

An Israeli strike on Hezbollah's stronghold in the southern suburb of Beirut earlier in the week killed Fuad Shukr, head of the group's military operations, along with an Iranian military adviser and five civilians.

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, met with officials from Qatar, Egypt, and Lebanon, emphasizing the "growing risk of a serious escalation" in the region. 

Wennesland stated the importance of decisive and collective action to address immediate threats and establish a foundation for lasting peace, and he will continue engaging with all "relevant parties" to support mediation efforts aimed at preventing the Gaza conflict from escalating into a regional war.

'Baseless allegations' against journalist killed in Gaza

The Israeli military confirmed it killed Al-Jazeera journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul in an airstrike in Gaza, claiming he was a Hamas operative involved in the October 7 attack on Israel. 

Al-Jazeera dismissed these "baseless allegations" as an attempt to justify targeting its journalists. 

The media outlet reported that Al-Ghoul and cameraman Ramy El Rify were killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza City while filming near the house of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas chief killed in Iran earlier that day.

Israeli forces hit a school in Shejaia in Gaza City, killing at least 15 people and wounding 29, Palestinian civil emergency services said, as fighting continued in various parts of the Gaza Strip.

The military said it had targeted fighters operating in a compound within the school that it said was used as a hideout for Hamas commanders and fighters.

"Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, surveillance, and additional intelligence," it said in a statement.

The head of Hamas's military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month, the Israeli military said.

West Bank raids

Local Palestinian media platforms have shared videos, verified by Al Jazeera, showing ongoing Israeli raids in Nablus, located in the occupied West Bank. 

According to estimates by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israel has killed 569 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7.

The Israeli military says it has killed Mohammed al-Jabari, Palestinian Islamic Jihad's (PIJ) deputy head of weapons manufacturing. 

It said he was responsible for "financing weapons manufacturing infrastructure" for the group in northern Gaza, the distribution of salaries and funds, "and was part of attempts to restore the Islamic Jihad's rocket manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure." 

There has been no comment yet from the PIJ on these claims.

Eighty-five percent of Gaza's schools have been hit or damaged during the ongoing war, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which cites satellite assessments by the Global Education Cluster. The UN agency stated on X that "the war is destroying the present and the future of Palestinian children."

Shouting slogans and waving national flags, hundreds of Israelis marched in Tel Aviv to demand the return of hostages, as they endured their 300th day of captivity in Gaza on Thursday.

"There is no victory until the hostages are back," chanted the demonstrators, many wearing t-shirts emblazoned with "300 Days," near the defense ministry in the country's commercial hub, a news agency correspondent reported.

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