Israel Katz, Israel’s Foreign Minister, has officially acknowledged for the first time in five months that Israel was responsible for killing Ismail Haniyeh, the former leader of Hamas, in Tehran.
According to France 24, Katz made these remarks on Monday, December 23.
On Monday, during a ceremony to honor Israel’s Ministry of Defense employees, Katz issued a stern warning to Yemen’s Houthis, stating that they would meet the same fate as Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Israeli Defense Minister stated, “We have defeated Hamas, defeated Hezbollah, disabled Iran’s defense systems, damaged its production capabilities, toppled Assad’s regime in Syria, delivered a severe blow to the axis of evil, and we will deal a severe blow to the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen as well.”
He emphasized that Israel would destroy the strategic infrastructure of these groups and eliminate their leaders. Katz added, “Just as we dealt with Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon, we will do the same in Hodeidah and Sana’a.”
The Houthi group in Yemen, backed by Iran, has repeatedly launched attacks on Israeli territory. On December 22, a missile fired from Yemen struck a park in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, injuring 16 people. Among them, a three-year-old girl sustained minor injuries from broken glass, while 14 others suffered bruises and contusions while fleeing to shelters.
Although Iran and Hamas had long suspected Israel’s involvement in Haniyeh’s assassination, Tel Aviv had not admitted to the act until now.
It is worth noting that Ismail Haniyeh was killed on July 31 this year in a guesthouse in Tehran.
At the time, reports suggested that he was assassinated using a bomb planted weeks earlier by Israeli agents.
This acknowledgment marks a significant shift in Israel’s approach to transparency about its operations against perceived threats. By openly claiming responsibility, Israel sends a message of deterrence to its adversaries while heightening tensions in the region.
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