A pair of assassinations of anti-Israel militant leaders hours apart is threatening to set off a regional clash and upend already fragile talks aimed at ending the war in Gaza.

The deadly round of strikes, retaliation and negotiations escalated Wednesday when Hamas' political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed, hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran's new president in Tehran. Israel has not claimed responsibility, but Iran threatened revenge against Israel.

Two Al-Jazeera reporters were killed in an Israeli strike in northern Gaza on Wednesday, the satellite news network said, the latest Palestinian journalists working with the Qatari network to be killed in the war-torn enclave.

Correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul, 27, cameraman Rami al-Rifi and a child who was not identified were killed in a blast that struck a car in Gaza City that the three were traveling in, according to the network and the Emergency and Ambulance Service, which helps recover and transport casualties to hospitals across Gaza.

The Israeli military said Thursday that it has confirmed that the head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July.

Israel targeted Deif in a July 13 strike that hit a compound on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, but the military said for weeks it was working to determine if he died in the blast. Hamas has denied he was killed. More than 90 other people, including displaced civilians in nearby tents, were killed in the strike, Gaza health officials said at the time.

Israel's suspected killing of Hamas' political leader in the heart of Tehran, coming after a week in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised U.S. lawmakers he would continue his war against Hamas until "total victory," points to an Israeli leader ever more openly at odds with Biden administration efforts to calm the region through diplomacy.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking on an Asia trip, was left to tell reporters there that Americans had not been aware of or involved in the attack on Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, whose roles included overseeing Hamas' side in U.S.-led mediation to bring a cease-fire and release of hostages in the Gaza war.

By Asher Kaufman, University of Notre Dame

Israel's apparent assassinations of Fouad Shukur, Hezbollah's top military leader, in Beirut, and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, have raised again the specter of a regional war involving regional adversaries – one that could potentially drag the United States into the fray.

Two back-to-back strikes in Beirut and Tehran, both attributed to Israel and targeting high-ranking figures in Hamas and Hezbollah, have left Hezbollah and Iran in a quandary.

Analysts agree that both strikes hit too close to home to pass without a response, and were serious security breaches for Iran and Hezbollah. Calibrating that response to restore deterrence without sparking an even more damaging escalation may be the most delicate balancing act in nearly a year of teetering on the brink of a regional war.

Simone Biles reached the top of the podium yet again, cementing her legacy as the greatest American gymnast and one of the best athletes in the history of the Olympics.

Biles helped the United States win the women's team event Tuesday to secure her fifth Olympic gold medal and put the U.S. back on top of the sport after a second-place finish three years ago in Tokyo.

Novak Djokovic needed a bit of time to assert himself Wednesday at the Paris Olympics before taking control with a five-game run for a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Dominik Koepfer of Germany, reaching the Summer Games singles quarterfinals for the fourth time.

A gold medal is pretty much the only accomplishment of significance missing from the resume of Djokovic, a 37-year-old from Serbia who has won a men's-record 24 Grand Slam titles and spent more weeks at No. 1 than anyone in the history of the computerized tennis rankings.

Most indexes were sharply higher in early trading on Wall Street Wednesday amid a flurry of earnings ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy decision.

Oil prices jumped more than $2 a barrel after Hamas's top political leader died in an air strike in Tehran.

The targeting of two senior militant leaders in two Middle Eastern capitals within hours of each other — with each strike blamed on Israel — risks rocking the region at a critical moment.

The strikes come as international mediators are working to bring Israel and Hamas to agree to a cease-fire that would wind down the devastating war in Gaza and free hostages. Intense diplomatic efforts are also underway to ease tensions between Israel and Hezbollah after months of cross-border fighting.