TEHRAN — Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh has said the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani will not change the path of the Resistance Front and that resistance will continue in Palestine.

“I declare that the Resistance project in Palestine will continue and will not be weakened and it won’t retreat,” Haniyeh said in a speech at the funeral of General Soleimani in Tehran on Monday morning, Mehr reported.

The Palestinian leader lauded the late Iranian commander as a martyr of al-Quds who made great sacrifices in order to safeguard Palestine and the resistance.

General Soleimani’s efforts helped strengthen the resistance and enhanced its power, He said.

“We have come here today to express our sincere and genuine feelings for the dear brother and the martyred commander,” Haniyeh added.

He also offered his condolences to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as the Iranian government and nation over the loss of Soleimani.

“We announce that this cruel crime committed by the Americans signifies the criminal spirit that has led to crimes in the holy land of Palestine.”

Ayatollah Khamenei led the ritual “prayer for the deceased” during the funeral of General Soleimani in Tehran on Monday. Millions of Iranians along with high-ranking officials of Iran and Resistance movement participated in the event.

General Soleimani, the deputy head of Iraq’s Hashd al-Sha'abi, and a number of their entourage were assassinated in an airstrike by American drones near the Baghdad International Airport in the early hours of Friday.

The White House and the Pentagon claimed responsibility for the assassination of General Soleimani, saying the attack was carried out at the direction of Donald Trump.

According to the New York Times, the top Iranian general was killed when an American MQ-9 Reaper drone fired missiles into a convoy that was leaving the airport.

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