Israel says it has confirmed Hamas’s top military commander, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza on July 13 that killed some 100 people. Hamas has not responded to the claim. This comes amid rapidly rising regional tensions following the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in a targeted Israeli strike in Tehran overnight Wednesday. That strike took place just hours after Israel bombed a Beirut suburb, killing a top Hezbollah commander. Hezbollah confirmed Wednesday Fuad Shukr had died in that attack.

Thousands gathered in Tehran today for Haniyeh’s funeral procession, ahead of his upcoming burial in Doha, Qatar. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led today’s funeral prayers, reportedly issued an order Wednesday for Iran to strike Israel directly in retaliation. The U.N. is warning of a “dangerous escalation” following Israel’s attacks that “undermines” a possible ceasefire in Gaza.

In Gaza, displaced, war-plagued Palestinians responded to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh

Ramadan Al-Laham: “My personal opinion is that it is a bullet of mercy on the so-called negotiations. The occupation, especially Netanyahu, were wasting time, and this bullet came to kill these negotiations. So we return to the truth that we are in a war, a genocide, and that the occupation does not want negotiations nor deals, but rather the annihilation and to take over the Gaza Strip. The resistance is ready, God willing. Ismail Haniyeh’s blood is a fire that will be upon the occupation and its associates.”

We’ll have more on these latest developments after headlines.