Welcome to the news hour. The top political leader of Hamas, Ismail Hania, was killed overnight in Tehran just hours after an Israeli

airstrike killed one of the top military leaders of Hezbollah in Beirut.

Taken together after 10 months of war in Gaza,

the attacks escalated fears that a simmering regional conflict

could explode into a new and more dangerous phase.

Nick Schifrin starts our cover.

In the hours before his death, Hamas political leader Ismail Hanya met Iranian

Supreme Leader Ayatollah al-ichjana, Iran's new president, and with Iranian lawmakers, pledged the victory he spent

his life promising.

It was his final public expression.

Overnight he and his Iranian bodyguard

were killed in what Hamas and Iran described

as an Israeli drone strike.

Iran immediately vowed vengeance.

Kamii posted it is our duty to take revenge.

And the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Israel will quote

face a harsh and painful response from the powerful and huge

resistance front especially Islamic Iran. That threat of regional war was

repeated today by Iranian proxies in Yemen, the Houthis.

And in Lebanon by Hezbollah and Hamas, which vowed to take the battle with Israel to quote

new dimensions. But it was met with defiance by Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu. We are prepared for any scenario and will stand united

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