The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth revealed, on Friday morning, new details about the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the Hamas movement, in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

According to the newspaper report prepared by the famous journalist known for his political, security and intelligence relations, Ronen Bergman, for hours no information was leaked about Haniyeh's assassination, and there was a state of chaos and shock that prevailed among the Hamas leadership on the one hand, and in Iran on the other.

According to Bergman, the attack occurred as a result of the detonation of an explosive device in Haniyeh's residence, which is well fortified by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which supervises its security protection.

He explained that the room in which Haniyeh was liquidated was reserved for important and distinguished guests in particular, and that Haniyeh admired it and used it on all his visits to Iran.

Hours before his assassination, Haniyeh was given a warm welcome at the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Massoud Pezeshkian, and had hundreds of photographs taken of him. He was perhaps one of the most photographed people in history at such an event, given the timing, the international coverage, and the fact that 86 delegations had arrived in Tehran in the hours before the assassination and inauguration.

According to the report, the bomb was professionally planted in Netanyahu's room, so that the event could only end in one way, somewhat similar to the assassination of the leader of the military wing of Hamas, Mohammed Deif, whose assassination was also confirmed yesterday, and who was assassinated as soon as his location was known.

Bergman adds in his report: In the face of the explosive device used to assassinate Haniyeh, he had no chance of leaving the place even with a serious injury.

He says: Dozens of people were watching TV screens in several places to see if there was any news or reaction to what happened, and shortly before 3 a.m., Haniyeh's son posted a strange post on Facebook, but it is not known whether he knew what happened to his father or not, and for several hours no information leaked from that house located on a hill in Tehran.

He adds: Senior Hamas and Revolutionary Guard officials who were asked if they knew if anything had happened to one of the organization’s leaders in Tehran, laughed and mocked the questioners. What were the chances that something would happen to them there, in Iran? But at that time, some of those who knew about Haniyeh’s assassination were working hard to prevent any information about it from leaking.

He continues: At 5:15 am on Wednesday, Haniyeh's son published a post that clearly indicated the assassination of his father, and only 5 minutes later the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced it, and then chaos spread throughout the Middle East.

A few hours later, in one of the most heavily guarded security facilities in the Middle East, a group of knowledgeable men and women sat, all of them suffering from obvious signs of lack of sleep. Iran was still in a state of deep shock, as were Hamas members who had been shocked by Haniyeh’s assassination in the heart of Tehran, Bergman says.

In the security facility, someone said: “This may be Israel’s last step in the war in Gaza, and this will be the image of victory that everyone expects, and that Netanyahu cannot do without.” One of those present replied: “Israel will never admit its involvement in this assassination operation.” Another said: “Then let them say that this is the image of Israel’s victory.”

He adds: Additional hours ahead in the timeline, the Middle East atmosphere was filled with threats of revenge and fear in Israel of the future, and any talk of an end to the war seemed irrelevant, but precisely because of the fear of a regional war, it makes sense to study the possibility of closing the agreement, allowing the deal to be strengthened and the ceasefire to take hold.

He continued: While various parties in the mediating countries involved in the negotiations have expressed their anger over the assassination, and are unlikely to find solace in the fact that it could have been much worse, on the other hand, it is important to stress that although an operation in Qatar would have involved less risk of regional conflagration, those who carried out the operation preferred not to carry it out on its territory thanks to its contribution to the release of the kidnapped, and that any assassination on its territory would be very harmful and would certainly destroy its share of the mediation.

The report indicates that there is a large gap in assessing the extent of the damage that will be done to the negotiations. Qatari, Egyptian and American officials saw Haniyeh as a moderate figure compared to others in Hamas and those seeking to reach an agreement, while people like Deif or Yahya Sinwar call for a more extreme and hardline approach.

According to the report, from the Israeli intelligence point of view, the picture is more complicated, and Israeli intelligence sources have believed for some time that the head of Hamas's political bureau did not help push the negotiations towards reaching an agreement, but in some cases caused his movement's position to harden.

According to Israeli sources, Haniyeh may have a relatively moderate image, but behind the scenes and throughout the months of negotiations, his positions and perceptions were often more of an obstacle to progress in the talks than Sinwar. The same sources also say that now, with Haniyeh withdrawing from influencing Hamas’s position in the negotiations, they hope, along with other recent events that have hit Hamas including the Rafah invasion and the assassination of Mohammed Deif, that the movement will be more flexible in its willingness to reach a ceasefire agreement.

Israeli officials estimate that Hamas will remain interested in a ceasefire and that Haniyeh's assassination does not profoundly change this desire.

According to sources involved in the negotiations, the assassination may lead in the short term to a slight delay in the negotiations as a protest by Hamas, because Haniyeh was a stumbling block in the negotiations for a settlement, and his departure will facilitate the possibility of implementing the agreement more quickly.

Israeli security officials estimate that Haniyeh's assassination may create pressure and a sense of danger among the Hamas leadership outside the Gaza Strip, which has so far remained tense and believed that it enjoyed immunity from Israeli assassinations.

It is not known whether Netanyahu will be convinced by the current image of victory, but the assassination may provide him with an opportunity, after the "scapegoat" following the assassination of Haniyeh and Al-Daif, to move forward with the deal and prevent a regional war.