Israel has confirmed that its military killed Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas political chief, in Tehran earlier this year. The assassination was revealed by Defence Minister Israel Katz, who also issued a warning to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, stating that their leadership could face a similar fate.
“We will strike hard at the Houthis… and decapitate their leadership – just as we did with Haniyeh, [Yahya] Sinwar, and [Hassan] Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon,” Katz said, according to The Guardian.
Haniyeh, known for leading Hamas’s negotiation efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza, was killed on July 31 in a guesthouse in Tehran. Reports indicate that an explosive device, planted by Israeli operatives weeks earlier, was used in the assassination.
A senior Hamas official condemned the killing, calling it a “cowardly act that will not go unpunished.” Mediators from Qatar and Egypt warned that the act would delay ceasefire negotiations and talks on the release of hostages held in Gaza.
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have been launching missile and drone attacks on Israel as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. These attacks have included a missile strike on Tel Aviv on Saturday that injured at least 16 people.
Israel has responded with three rounds of airstrikes in Yemen during the ongoing war and has vowed to increase pressure on the Houthis until the attacks cease.
The Guardian also reported that Haniyeh’s assassination follows the killing of other key leaders, including Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on 27 September and Hamas’s Yahya Sinwar in Gaza on 16 October.
Sinwar was accused of masterminding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, which triggered the current conflict in Gaza.
(with inputs from The Guardian)
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