DaysofPa- Israel Katz, Israel’s army minister, has publicly admitted for the first time that Israel assassinated Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last July, while delivering a stern warning to the Yemen-based Houthis of imminent action against them.
Speaking on Monday evening at an event honoring Army Ministry personnel, Katz stated that Israel had “dealt a severe blow to the axis of evil, and we will also deal a severe blow to the Houthi terrorist organisation in Yemen, which remains the last to stand.”
He added, “When the Houthi terrorist organization is firing missiles at Israel, I want to convey a clear message to them at the beginning of my remarks: We have defeated Hamas, we have defeated Hezbollah, we have blinded Iran’s defense systems and damaged the production systems, we have toppled the [Bashar al-]Assad regime in Syria.”
Katz emphasized that Israel would continue to target its adversaries, stating, “We will damage [Houthi] strategic infrastructure, and we will behead their leaders – just as we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon – we will do it in [Yemen’s] Hodeidah and Sanaa.” His remarks referenced the recent killings of Hamas’s Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The Houthis have conducted several missile attacks on Israel in recent months, including a hypersonic ballistic missile strike on Tel Aviv last Saturday. The missile evaded Israeli defense systems and struck a public park in Jaffa, injuring more than a dozen people lightly.
Haniyeh’s assassination occurred on July 31 during his visit to Tehran for the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
According to Iranian state media reports, the Hamas leader and his bodyguard were killed when an “airborne guided projectile” hit a residence for military veterans in northern Tehran around 2 am local time.
While Iranian and Palestinian officials immediately blamed Israel for the assassination, Israeli authorities had until now neither confirmed nor denied their involvement. Haniyeh’s killing provoked widespread outrage across Palestine and heightened fears of a broader regional conflict. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned the attack and promised “harsh punishment” in retaliation.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=59600
