Mourners bury Hamas chief Haniyeh in Qatar as more escalation looms over the Middle East

JERUSALEM — Thousands of mourners converged around the flag-draped coffin of Hamas’ slain political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in the emirate of Qatar on Friday as the fallout surged from his death in an alleged Israeli attack. Pakistan and Turkey lowered their flags to half-staff, prompting Israel to summon Turkey’s deputy ambassador for a “stern reprimand.” Turkey’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Oncu Keceli, shot back that Israel “cannot achieve peace by killing the negotiators” — a reference to Haniyeh’s role in cease-fire talks — while hundreds of Turks gathered at the historic Hagia Sophia to pay tribute to the slain Hamas leader as his funeral service got underway in Doha. “We are sure that his blood will bring out victory, dignity and liberation,” senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, seen as a possible successor to Haniyeh, said from the Doha mosque where Haniyeh’s coffin was displayed beside that of his bodyguard who was also killed in the attack in Tehran. But Israelis and Lebanese braced for more after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday declared that Shukr’s killing had pushed the conflict into a “new phase.” Across the region, vows by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that Israel would pay a price for killing Haniyeh on Iranian soil quickly led to calls for intense diplomacy to prevent further escalation. Tor Wennesland, the U.N. special coordinator for the Mideast peace process, said he was racing to work with Lebanon, Qatar, Egypt and other nations to “prevent a spillover of the conflict.” U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey and Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited Israel on Friday “to push for an immediate cease-fire,” while Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he spoke with his American counterpart, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.