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Turkiye Calls Mashal Hamas' Acting Political Chief After Haniyeh's Assassination

ISTANBUL (Sputnik) - The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday referred to Khaled Mashal, a deputy of slain Ismail Haniyeh, as the acting chief of Hamas' political bureau.
Sputnik
"Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with acting Hamas political bureau head Khaled Mashal in the Qatari capital of Doha and expressed his condolences," the ministry said, adding Haniyeh's two sons took part in the Doha meeting.
Hamas refuted the claim in a comment to Sputnik, saying it would announce Haniyeh's successor after the meeting of its consultative Shura Council.
"We refute the appointment of the late chief Ismail Haniyeh's successor. We will make an official announcement after the election, which will be held after the Shura Council," Basem Naim, a member of Hamas' political office in Gaza, said.
The farewell ceremony for Haniyeh will be held in Doha on Friday, where he mostly resided in recent years, a source in Hamas told Sputnik. His final resting place has not been officially named.
Hamas said on Wednesday that its Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike on his residence in Tehran after he took part in the inauguration of the newly elected Iranian president. Hamas blamed Israel and the United States for his death and vowed to retaliate.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said he had nothing to say about Haniyeh's death or Israel's alleged role in it. The Jerusalem Post reported that the Israeli government had instructed ministers not to comment on Haniyeh's assassination.
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