Haniyeh, 62, was born in a refugee camp near Gaza City, and joined Hamas in the late 1980s during the First Intifada, or uprising.
As Hamas grew in power, Haniyeh rose through the ranks – being appointed part of a secret “collective leadership” in 2004. By 2017 he had become chief of the group – and was named a “specially designated global terrorist” by the US soon after.
Some Palestinians expressed shock and sadness at his death on Wednesday. “Ismail Haniyeh is the son of Gaza. He represents my entire people,” Ahmad Al Nims told a journalist working with CNN in Deir el-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.Another Gazan, Abu Yasser Hassoun, said the assassination had “struck” Palestinians “like a thunderbolt.” Palestinian analyst Mustafa Ibrahim told CNN that despite some disagreements, Haniyeh held a “special place among the Palestinians.”