Ismail Haniyeh Assassination: Did WhatsApp Aid The Killing Of Hamas Leader? Theories Emerge As Tensions Rise In Middle East

The world, and the Middle East in particular, woke up to another consequential tranche of developments on July 31, when the news of the assassination of Hamas leader and former Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh emerged.

The leader, who was the political pace of the Gaza-based militant group, was allegedly assassinated in the Iranian Capital of Teharan.

Ever since his death, reactions have poured in. Although the state of Israel has yet to officially issue a statement claiming responsibility for what happened, most fingers are now being pointed at the Jewish State.

In fact, the country's PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed that enemies of the state would not be spared and that the said enemies had been dealt a crushing blow.

Many, including Turkey, have condemned the attack.

Theories of How The Assassination Came To Pass

Amidst the rising tension in the ever-volatile region, some conspiracy theories have also emerged in the matter. One of them is regarding the modus operandi used in the killing of the leader. Haniyeh was located in Tehran, the city of his primary backers, the Iranian state and the ruling Ayatollahs.

Therefore, carrying out such an operation and breaching what could have been the safest space for Haniyeh would have required extensive operational effort.

According some reports, the Hamas chief was killed in a drone strike. He was also reportedly protected by as many as 100 guards. According to some in the world of the internet, the American messaging platform WhatsApp played a role in the matter.

According to some Reddit and X users, the co-founder and former CEO of WhatsApp, Yan Borysovych Koum, who is ethnically Jewish, is said to have played a role in the matter. WhatsApp, According to one user, Koum used WhatsApp to aid in the assassination. The user said, "Using his company WhatsApp, Israeli intelligence installed spyware on Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh phone via a WhatsApp message."

The user further added," The exact location of Ismail Haniyeh was then given and the IDF used a drone to launch a missile strike"

The Rising Tensions In Middle East

In addition, many accounts on the social media platform Reddit also reiterated the same message.

Koum is one of the richest people in the world, with a net worth of over USD 16 billion.

It is interesting to note that WhatsApp is a service that is proscribed or banned in the Ayatollah-led Iranian regime. In fact, Iran is one of the few countries, including China, to ban the application from functioning in their territories.

This development has oriented a situation that could result in major ripple effects across the board and have far-reaching effects.

The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has vowed to take revenge for this attack. In addition, it remains to be seen whether there would be greater retaliation from Hamas itself, and whether other Iran-backed militias, including the all-powerful Hezbollah, would attack Israel and its territories in solidarity with Hamas.