Thousands of people gathered in and around a mosque in Qatar on Friday to bid farewell to the slain leader of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, after he was killed in Tehran earlier this week, Qatari state television reported.
The funeral service, which was also attended by Qatari and Arab officials, began at 12:00 (0900 GMT) with a prayer at the Imam Abdul Wahhab Mosque, the largest state mosque in Qatar.
According to Hamas, Haniyeh’s body would then be buried in a cemetery in the town of Lusail, north of Doha.
Qatari state television, which is broadcasting live, reported that strict security measures have been put in place around the ceremony.
It was added that the funeral ceremony would therefore take place within the immediate family circle.
Haniyeh and part of his family had been living in exile in the Gulf emirate of Qatar for years.
He was killed on Wednesday in an Iranian government guest house in Tehran.
Haniyeh had gone to the Iranian capital for the inauguration of the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Iran and Hamas blame Israel for the attack and threaten retaliation.
Israel has not yet commented on the targeted killing of the Hamas leader.
Thousands of people took part in a state-organized mourning ceremony in Tehran on Thursday.
The leader of Hamas had been part of the Islamic terrorist organization for decades.
In the ongoing war with Israel in the Gaza Strip, he has been a key figure for international mediators who have tried to negotiate a ceasefire and the exchange of hostages in Gaza for prisoners in Israeli jails.
His death means uncertainty about the future of the negotiations.