Palestinian Prime Minister and head of Hamas's political bureau Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza. Photo: The Palestine Chronicle/File photo.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has confirmed, for the first time, that Israel assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
In a threat to the Ansarallah movement in Yemen, Katz said in a speech on Monday, that Israel would “behead the leaders of the Houthis [Ansarallah], just as we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah.”
Israeli Security Minister Israel Katz has admitted, for the first time, the IOF's responsibility for the assassination of #Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh in #Tehran back in July.
The Israeli occupation did not claim responsibility for the strike at the time. pic.twitter.com/581FgPu7nP
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 23, 2024
His admission at a Defense Ministry event comes five months after Haniyeh was assassinated in the room of the guesthouse he was staying in. He had attended the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian a day earlier.
Katz’s threats
“In these days, when the Houthi terror organization is firing missiles at Israel, I want to convey a clear message to them: We have defeated Hamas, we have defeated Hezbollah, we have blinded the defense systems in Iran, and damaged the (missile) production systems,” Katz is quoted by The Times of Israel as saying.
For the first time, Israel claims responsibility for the liquidation of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz:
“We will hit the Houthis hard, we will target their strategic infrastructure, we will behead their leaders – as we did with Haniyeh, Sinwar,… pic.twitter.com/0qrkeSTwY2
— S p r i n t e r (@SprinterFamily) December 23, 2024
“We have overthrown the Assad regime in Syria, we have dealt heavy blows to the ‘axis of evil,’ and we will also severely strike the Houthi terror organization in Yemen, which remains the last one standing,” he continued.
Katz vowed that Israel would “strike strategic infrastructure and behead its leaders, just as we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah, in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon — we will do in Hodeidah and Sanaa.”
“Whoever raises a hand against Israel will have their hand cut off, and the long arm of the IDF [Israeli army] will strike them and settle the score,” he reportedly threatened.
Key negotiations member
As the head of Hamas’ political bureau, Haniyeh was a key figure in the ceasefire negotiations with Israel.
In August, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) announced that technical investigations confirmed that the assassination of Haniyeh was carried out using a 7.5-kilogram projectile.
“This action was designed and implemented by the Zionist regime and supported by the criminal government of America,” the IRGC said in a statement.
Hamas said at the time that if assassinating Haniyeh “was one of Netanyahu’s goals to change the course of the negotiations, he is delusional.”
Further assassinations
Israel has until now not publicly claimed responsibility for the assassination of Haniyeh and his bodyguard Wassim Abu Shaaban. Millions of people took part in funeral prayers in absentia for Haniyeh, across several Islamic and Arab countries and elsewhere.
Tel Aviv subsequently assassinated Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah in a Beirut bombing on September 27, followed by the killing of Haniyeh’s successor Yahya Sinwar in October in Gaza.
Israeli media outlets, including Yedioth Ahronoth and Channel 12, noted that Katz’s admission of Haniyeh’s assassination marked the first public acknowledgment of the operation by a senior Israeli official, the Anadolu news agency reported.
Katz’s statements come after a hypersonic ballistic missile strike on Saturday by the Yemeni Armed Forces, affiliated with the Ansarallah movement, which targeted an Israeli military site in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv.
Israeli authorities confirmed that their air defense systems, including the Iron Dome and David’s Sling, failed to intercept the Yemeni missile.
