China’s ministry of foreign affairs said that it “firmly opposes” the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political arm, in the latest statement of Beijing’s long-running embrace of the Palestinian terror group.
Hamas and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed yesterday that Israel was behind a strike that targeted Haniyeh in Tehran. Israeli officials have not spoken about Haniyeh’s reported demise, consistent with the country’s usual practice of not commenting on certain operations in which it was reportedly involved.
“We are greatly concerned about the incident, firmly oppose and condemn the assassination, and are deeply worried that this incident may lead to further instability in the region,” Lin Jian, a spokesman for the ministry said at today’s press briefing in Beijing, according to China’s Xinhua propaganda arm.
China has sided with Hamas in the wake of October 7, sending an official to The Hague to argue that Palestinians have a right to “armed resistance” against Israel. The Global Times, another Chinese propaganda organ, has endorsed Iranian strikes targeting Israel and praised Hamas for treating Noa Argamani, a former Israeli hostage, “humanely.” Last week, Beijing convened Palestinian leaders from different factions for talks in China that resulted in an agreement to form a unity government.
Russia also expressed opposition to the alleged strike, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that Moscow “strongly condemns” it.