Air alert declared in the north of Israel

Air raid sirens have been launched in northern Israel amid aggravation due to the death of the head of the political bureau of the Hamas movement, Ismail Haniyeh, as a result of an Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

"Sirens sounded in the north of Israel," the IDF said in a Telegram channel.

On Wednesday, Hamas announced the death of the head of the movement's politburo, Ismail Haniyeh, as a result of an Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran, where he arrived to attend the inauguration of the new Iranian president. The movement blamed Israel and the United States for Haniyeh's death and said the attack would not go unanswered.

The New York Times newspaper, citing sources, claimed that Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei ordered a direct strike on Israel in response to the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran.