US media outlets report that the top Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed by an explosive device planted in the room where he was staying, contradicting earlier announcements that he died in an Israeli missile attack.

The New York Times on Thursday quoted Middle Eastern and US officials as saying that the device had been smuggled into the room in a guesthouse in Tehran.

The newspaper also said "the bomb had been hidden approximately two months ago" and "the guesthouse is run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps." The officials say Haniyeh had stayed at the guesthouse several times when he visited Tehran.

The New York Times added that "Israel has not publicly acknowledged responsibility for the killing, but Israeli intelligence officials briefed the United States and other Western governments on the details of the operation in the immediate aftermath."

News website Axios said on Thursday that the device was detonated remotely by operatives of Israeli spy agency Mossad "who were on Iranian soil after receiving intelligence that Haniyeh was indeed in the room."

Axios also said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the decision to assassinate him.

Haniyeh died on Wednesday while visiting Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iran's state-run media and Hamas leaders say Haniyeh was killed by a missile strike.

(責任編輯：focus)