Israel admits the assassination of the head of the Hamas political bureau, Haniyeh, for the first time News of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned the Houthi rebels that Israel would “behead” its leaders as it did with Hamas.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz publicly admitted for the first time that his country assassinated Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, warning that the Houthis based in Yemen would also take a “hard hit.”

Speaking on Monday evening during a ceremony honoring Defense Ministry employees, Katz said that Israel “dealt a harsh blow to the axis of evil, and we will also deal a harsh blow to the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen, which is still the last one standing.” .

He said: When the Houthi terrorist organization launches missiles at Israel, I want to convey to them a clear message at the beginning of my speech: We defeated Hamas, we defeated Hezbollah, we blinded Iranian defense systems and damaged production systems. “We overthrew the (Bashar) al-Assad regime in Syria,” Katz said.

Katz added that Israel “will destroy the strategic infrastructure (of the Houthis) and we will behead their leaders – just as we did with Haniyeh, Sinwar and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon – we will do it in Hodeidah and Sanaa (the Yemenis).” In reference to the subsequent killings of Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The Houthis have carried out several missile attacks on Israel in recent months, including an attack on Tel Aviv on Saturday using what the Houthis described as a hypersonic ballistic missile.

More than a dozen people were slightly injured when the missile evaded Israeli defense systems and struck a public park in Jaffa.

Haniyeh was assassinated last July 31 during his visit to Tehran to attend the inauguration of the Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian.

According to Iranian state media reports at the time, the Hamas leader and his bodyguard were killed when an “air-guided projectile” hit a private residence for military veterans, where he was staying, in northern Tehran at around 2 a.m. local time.

Iranian and Palestinian officials blamed Israel for the assassination, but Israeli officials have so far neither confirmed nor denied involvement.

Haniyeh’s killing sparked anger across Palestine and raised fears of a broader regional conflict, with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowing “severe punishment” in response.

In October, Iran fired a barrage of missiles at several Israeli cities in what it said was retaliation for the killing of leaders of its allies, Hamas and Hezbollah.

The Israeli army said that only a “few” injuries were recorded in the central and southern parts of the country, while the Israeli Emergency Service said that two people were injured by falling shrapnel in the Tel Aviv area.

No Israeli deaths were reported. The Palestinian authorities said that a man was killed by falling debris in the occupied West Bank.