Doha, August 3 (RHC)-- In Qatar, thousands have gathered for the funeral of Hamas’s assassinated political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha.  

Heba Ghazi, a mourner who is originally from Egypt, told reporters in the Qatar capital: “We came here today to provide moral support to the Palestinian people and the Arab people, to bid farewell to the body of Ismail Haniyeh.  He is considered a leader of the resistance against Israel. … He was the essence of the negotiations.  He was the main side of the negotiations speaking on behalf of the resistance.  His assassination has for sure assassinated the negotiations.”

Protests and other gatherings also took place on Friday across the Arab and Muslim world.  Israel summoned Turkey’s deputy ambassador after the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv lowered its flag to half-mast in a tribute to Haniyeh. 

U.S. President Joe Biden said late Thursday that Haniyeh’s killing had “not helped” the situation in Gaza and the region.

Meanwhile, new reports say that an Israeli bomb that was smuggled into a Tehran guesthouse two months ago, then remotely detonated Wednesday, is to blame for Haniyeh’s death.  The Hamas leader was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran’s new president.