Extra, extra, read all about it now, oh baby.

Extra, extra, read all about it now.

Oh, baby.

Good morning, then.

It is Wednesday, July 31st, 20 2024. I hope I find you well. I'll tell you that as I press record here, it is 625 a.m. The voice is a bit scratchy, so forgive me for that. It's lovely to be speaking with you again, by the way. I've been off the last

couple of days, but I'm back now and glad to be back. The Papers podcast, I'm going to look

at the front pages and some stories I've dragged out in a moment. But before that, and the reason I told you at the time, is because

it's a fast-moving, a fast developing story out of Iran concerning Gaza. So the BBC is reporting

this morning that Hamas has said one of its key people, its leader, Ismail Hanye, has been killed in Tehran where he was living.

Now as I record this, Israel has yet to stay anything about it, but it had vowed Israel, the Israeli government of course, that it would crush Hamas following the October 7th attacks last year.

So this guy's death Hanyi comes hours after Israel claimed it killed a senior Hezbollah commander in a strike in Beirut. This has led to fears, of course,

of a wider escalation in the region, genuine fears, that this could really escalate out of all

control. So Israel has attacked and killed two senior militant leaders, Hamas leader Ismail Hanyi and a Hezbollah leader.

Again, fears that the region could be in all-out war.

This man Hanyi was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of the Iranian President Massoud Peschkian.

Israel has charged some of its own soldiers with torture and sexual assault of prisoners.

That's also a story getting some coverage this morning.

And Yolanda Nell, who is a BBC correspondent in Jerusalem, she said in a post this morning,

it's unclear as yet what effect this will have on the course of the situation in Gaza.

But Hanyé had been overseeing talks on a new ceasefire and hostage release deal. So that's interesting.

This guy, Hanya, was central to negotiations to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza and maybe a

release of hostages. So what was the point of assassinating this man? I have no idea. But

...