Death of top Hamas leader is biggest moment in Middle East since October 7

ITV News International Editor Emma Murphy reports on the death of Ismail Haniyeh and what the likely response from Hamas will be.

Within days of October 7, Israel warned Hamas' leadership they were dead men walking - surrender or die.

Last night's assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, inside Iran, sends a clear message to Israel's enemies.

No-one and no where is safe and no where is beyond reach. This is the biggest moment in the Middle East since October 7.

The co-ordinated assassinations - first Israel's claim of Hezbollah's military commander Fouad Shkur in Beirut and then political leader Haniyeh in Tehran - have the potential to take this conflict to another level.

The rules of engagement so far have been hits of equal level - if, at the least those rules are followed, these are likely to be difficult, dangerous days in Israel.

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It is hard to see how the killing of two significant figures can go without significant response, and that is setting aside the embarrassment factor.

To take Haniyeh out on Iranian soil just hours after his meeting with the supreme leader only adds to this bubbling pot.

There would have been retaliation for the attack in Beirut, there will be for the attack in Tehran. Without question Iran's proxies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen will step up their activities in the region.

And what for the war in Gaza? Any imminent ceasefire deal is likely dead for now with the dreadful human toll that goes with such a continuation.

These developments come just days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Washington DC.

His time there did not quieten his wish for retribution whether with the consent of President Joe Biden or with the warning from Kamala Harris that if she is the one in the Oval Office there may be less leniency.

There will be lots of talk about the need for peace in the days ahead and lots of actions which significantly raise the prospect of the much feared spiral into an uncontrolled regional war.

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