Thousands of Yemenis performed the absent prayer for slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Friday, August 2nd, 2024, across several cities under the control of the internationally recognized government, as well as in Sana'a, the capital controlled by the Houthi group, designated as a terrorist organization by many countries.

In the city of Marib (northeastern Yemen), thousands of citizens performed the absent prayer for Haniyeh in mosques across the city, coinciding with a massive protest condemning his assassination.

According to a Barran Press correspondent, protesters chanted slogans denouncing the ongoing Israeli massacres against the Palestinian people in Gaza, the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, and the world's silence in the face of the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.

In a statement from the protest, received by Barran Press, the protesters called on the international community, represented by the Security Council and the United Nations, to "enforce international law and punish the Israeli occupation for its repeated violations of everything Palestinian (land and people)."

The protesters also demanded a transparent investigation into "the heinous crime of assassination, provided that the Palestinian resistance is involved in the investigation process so that the truth is not buried in biased narratives that ultimately lead to the case being closed against an unknown perpetrator, similar to previous incidents."

In Taiz Governorate (southwestern Yemen), hundreds of citizens performed the absent prayer for Haniyeh in the "Freedom" Square in Taiz city and in mosques in the city under government control.

Following the prayer, "thousands gathered in the lower Tahrir Street in the center of the city in response to a call issued by political components loyal to the government," where protesters raised Yemeni and Palestinian flags and chanted slogans such as "Oh Haniyeh, oh brave one, you are the symbol of the free," and "The martyr Ismail said, we will not recognize Israel."

In the capital Sana'a, the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah channel reported that the absent prayer was performed for Haniyeh and the prominent Hezbollah leader Fouad Shukr, after Friday prayers in mosques across Sana'a and various governorates under the group's control.

On Friday, the funeral prayer for Haniyeh was held at the Mohammed bin Abdul Wahab Mosque in the Qatari capital Doha, with large official and public participation. The absent prayer was also held in mosques in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and Arab and Islamic cities.

On Wednesday, Hamas and Iran announced the assassination of Haniyeh in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his residence in Tehran, the day after he attended the inauguration ceremony of President Masoud Barzani.

On Thursday, Hamas called on Palestinians in the West Bank to participate in anger and condemnation marches against the crime of assassinating Haniyeh, after Friday prayers, in all mosques, and to perform the absent prayer for his soul.

With US support, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7th, which has left over 130,000 Palestinians dead and injured, most of them children and women, and over 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and a deadly famine.

In defiance of the international community, Tel Aviv continues the war, ignoring the UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and the orders of the International Court of Justice to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and to improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.