Watch: Mourners gather for funeral prayer of Hamas leader Ismali Haniyeh in Turkey

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Watch as thousands of Turks to gather in Istanbul for a symbolic funeral prayer for the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Iran on Wednesday 31 July.

Haniyeh, who mainly resided in Qatar, was assassinated in the early hours of the morning in Tehran, raising fears of wider escalation in a Middle East shaken by Israel’s war in Gaza and a worsening conflict in Lebanon.

Qatar and Egypt, which have acted as mediators in faltering ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, suggested on Wednesday that the killing could further jeopardise efforts to secure a truce.

Turkey has also condemned the assassination of Haniyeh, saying the attack aimed to spread the war in Gaza on a regional level.

The assassination strips Hamas of one of its sharpest political minds but will have no bearing on the leadership of the military wing that Israel is trying to destroy in Gaza.

Hamas has several possible candidates to replace Haniyeh, notably Khaled Meshaal, the group’s former leader who survived an assassination attempt in Jordan in 1997 and resides today in Qatar.