Local residents in Gaza City of the war-torn Gaza Strip said that the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh was a deliberate sabotage of the ceasefire negotiation process and that Israel intended to drag the entire region into a new round of violent conflicts.
Early Wednesday morning, the residence of Haniyeh in Tehran was hit in an airstrike after he attended the inauguration of Iran's new president, resulting in the death of Haniyeh as one of Hamas' highest-ranking officials and a bodyguard.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps of Iran says Haniyeh was killed by an "air-launched guided projectile" that struck the building. The attack happened just hours after Israel's strike on Beirut, which killed Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr.
After the incident, a China Media Group (CMG) correspondent visited the former residence of Haniyeh at Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. Earlier in June, an Israeli air strike killed 10 members of Haniyeh's family here, including his younger sister, sons and grandchildren.
Residents at the camp fiercely condemned the attack.
"The purpose of Israel's attack on Hamas [political] leader Ismail Haniyeh is to completely destroy all negotiation processes, eliminate all political positions that may help the Palestinian people find a solution, pull the plug on the negotiations among Hamas, Israel and related mediators and wipe out the possibility of the Palestinian people living a better life in the future," said Sherif Hassouna, a resident.
"If it weren't for the United States, Israel would not dare to attack Ismail Haniyeh. The United States must have played a big role in the attack. It was the United States that gave Israel the 'green light'," said Mahmoud Al-Najjar, another resident.
"I think Israel is seeking to plunge the entire region into bloody conflict. When it bombed the port of Hodeidah in Yemen and killed Lebanese Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shokor and Hamas [political] leader Ismail Haniyeh, Israel wanted to fill the region with sanguinary conflicts. (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu really wants to achieve his victory, because there is a conflict between him and the army. The Israeli army in the Gaza Strip is already exhausted and military vehicles are constantly damaged and destroyed. And on the streets of Israel, there are more and wider demonstrations, demanding a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. I think Israel's actions may lead to a turn in another direction, towards more extreme bloody scenes," said Yusri Al-Ghoul, a political analyst.
Assassination of Hamas political leader to evoke new round of bloody conflicts: Gazans
Assassination of Hamas political leader to evoke new round of bloody conflicts: Gazans
Assassination of Hamas political leader to evoke new round of bloody conflicts: Gazans
A survey released by CGTN to global netizens shows that respondents strongly condemn the U.S.'s unilateral bullying of other countries under the pretext of "reciprocal tariffs," saying that this move may trigger countermeasures from other countries and eventually evolve into a "tariff world war," seriously impacting the world economy.
The U.S. claims that it has suffered losses in international trade and is raising tariffs on all trading partners under the pretext of "reciprocity," aiming to reduce the trade deficit. However, 81.03 percent of global respondents do not agree with this, believing that such measures will not achieve the expected results. During his first term in office, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on major trading partners. According to statistics from the American Action Forum, a think tank, Trump's protectionist policies during the first term cost U.S. consumers about 57 billion U.S. dollars annually. According to the survey, 81.94 percent of respondents believe that "reciprocal tariffs" cannot solve U.S.'s own problems but will only harm the interests of U.S. consumers and drag down the U.S. economic growth.
The competitiveness of products from different countries varies. Each country can set appropriate tariffs based on its own products to achieve "mutual benefit" in the international market. The "tariff farce" of the U.S. side is a selective disregard for the balance of interests reached through multilateral trade negotiations. Some 82.8 percent of the respondents point out that in the context of unequal economic development and economic strength of different countries, the U.S. insistence on full and complete reciprocity in tariffs is extremely irrational.
The majority of the U.S. tariffs this time are targeted at developing countries. Regarding this, 82.96 percent of the respondents condemn the U.S. for conducting "indiscriminate attacks" on other countries on the issue of tariffs, believing that this is a deprivation of the development rights of other countries, especially developing countries. According to the survey, 84.43 percent of the respondents believe that the U.S.'s imposition of "reciprocal tariffs" will exacerbate the problem of trade unfairness with its trading partners and traditional allies, seriously damaging the country's credibility.
As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the U.S. has unilaterally and subjectively introduced so-called "reciprocal tariffs" and insisted on implementing them. This is a typical act of unilateral bullying. In response, 79.47 percent of the respondents criticize the U.S. for seriously violating the rules of the WTO. In the survey, 79.58 percent of the respondents say that "reciprocal tariffs" have become a new tool for the U.S. to promote trade protectionism, which will further intensify international trade tensions and global economic fragmentation.
This survey was released on CGTN's English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian platforms. Within 24 hours, a total of 9,600 overseas netizens participated in the survey and expressed their views.
CGTN poll: US 'reciprocal tariffs' draw condemnation from world
