Tough-talking Haniyeh was seen as the more moderate face of Hamas

Haniyeh, a Sunni Muslim, had a major hand building up Hamas' fighting capacity, partly by nurturing ties with Shi'ite Muslim Iran, which makes no secret of its support for the group. During the decade in which Haniyeh was Hamas' top leader in Gaza, Israel accused his leadership team of helping to divert humanitarian aid to the group's military wing.