Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei orders direct strike on Israel after Hamas leader killed

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, has reportedly ordered a direct attack on Israel as retaliation for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader. The killing took place in Iran on Tuesday night.

"Iran has blamed Israel for killing Haniyeh, who celebrated his organization’s unprecedented terrorist attack against Israel on October 7 and who had publicly called for more attacks," The Daily Wire reported.

"We see avenging his blood our duty," The New York Times reported Khamenei saying Wednesday. He promised "severe punishment" for Haniyeh's death.

The Iranian U.N. delegation said: "The response to an assassination will indeed be special operations—harder and intended to instill deep regret in the perpetrator."

This would be at least the second attack on Israel by Iran this year, which "launched an unprecedented attack on Israel in April, firing hundreds of drones and missiles launched from inside Iran directly at Israel."

The U.S. alleged Iran calculated its attacks to cause massive civilian casualties and infrastructure damage.

A coordinated effort by Israel, the U.S., and regional partners intercepted most of Iran's drones and missiles from the April attack.

The New York Times also reports Iranian officials saying options for this retaliatory strike include using proxy terrorist groups in the region.