PUTRAJAYA: All mosques under the supervision of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), namely the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, as well as the Putra Mosque and the Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque, here, will hold the "solat jenazah ghaib" (funeral prayer in the absence of the dead) for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh tonight.

JAKIM Director-General Datuk Hakimah Mohd Yusoff said the funeral prayer for Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran yesterday, will be held after the Maghrib prayer.

"JAKIM invites the public to attend the funeral prayer as a sign of the solidarity of Muslims in Malaysia for the struggle of the Palestinian Muslims against the tyranny of the Israeli Zionist regime," she said in a statement issued today.

Hakimah said JAKIM was deeply saddened and expressed its condolences to Haniyeh's family.

"The deceased was a respected figure and steadfast in the struggle to defend the Muslims in Palestine.

"May his soul be blessed and placed with the martyrs, the believers and the righteous," she said.

Hamas announced early Wednesday that Haniyeh, also the head of Hamas' political bureau, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his residence in Tehran, Iran, according to international media reports.

The Iranian state television also reported Haniyeh's death, stating that an investigation into the killing was ongoing and the results would be announced soon.

-- BERNAMA