Tehran [Iran], August 2 (ANI): The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday said that the US-mediated ceasefire proposed plan for Hamas to disarm is 'doomed to fail,' as it vowed a 'harsh and crushing' response to the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran two years ago.

In a statement marking the second anniversary of Haniyeh's killing, the IRGC said, 'The plot to disarm Hamas will not go anywhere and has already failed.'

The statement added, 'We promise the world that the pride of the unwavering anti-Zionist resistance and, by the grace of God, the final victory of Palestine over the occupiers is closer than the enemies imagine.'

Haniyeh was killed in an attack in Tehran on July 31, 2024, while he was in the Iranian capital to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The IRGC called his assassination 'a colossal crime' and 'a gross violation of the principles and norms of international law, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran.'

'Two years after the Zionist regime's crime of assassinating Sheikh Ismail Haniyeh, the continuation of genocide and the increase in medieval Zionist crimes in Gaza, the spread of war and crime to southern Lebanon, and then the beginning of the second and third imposed wars with the support of the evil and demonic President of the United States and its terrorist army against the Islamic Republic of Iran, today, more than ever, the terrorist and criminal nature of this regime has become clear to everyone,' the statement said.

The IRGC further accused the United States and some Western and regional governments of supporting Israel, saying their continued 'comprehensive arms and political support' and 'compliance and complicity' made them 'partners in committing crimes.'

The statement came as Hamas had announced its willingness to disarm under a US-mediated ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the war in Gaza.

Under the proposed arrangement, Hamas would relinquish its weapons and transfer governance of Gaza to an independent Palestinian entity, while Israel would withdraw its forces and an international stabilisation force would be deployed.

Israel has not formally responded to Hamas' statement. However, far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rejected the framework, saying, 'Israel must win,' and calling the proposal 'unacceptable' in a post on X.

The developments also came amid continued Israeli military operations in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had carried out strikes in the Gaza City area and northern Gaza, claiming to eliminate Alaa Emad Khamis Taramsi, a militant from the 'Army of Islam' militant organisation, and Hassan Ibrahim Shhada Kahman, a militant from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militant organisation. (ANI)