Defense Minister Katz Admits Israel Was Behind The Murder Of The Late Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh

The late Ismail Haniyeh (white shirt) with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian the day before his death. (Source: IRNA)

JAKARTA - Israeli Defense Minister Katz acknowledged Israel was behind the assassination of the late Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran in the middle of this year, when he said Israel would destroy forces such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Defense Minister Katz's statement was the first to confirm Israel was behind Haniyeh's murder that escalated tensions with Tehran.

"Currently, when the Houthi terrorist organization fired missiles at Israel, I wanted to convey a clear message to them at the start of my statement: We have beaten Hamas, we have defeated Hezbollah, we have blinded Iran's defense system and damaged the production system, we have ousted the Assad regime in Syria, we have dealt a crushing blow to the axis of crime, and we will also deliver a crushing blow to the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen, which remains the last to survive," explained Defense Minister Katz. , reported by Reuters December 24.

Israel will "rustrate their strategic infrastructure, and we will behead their leaders as we did against Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon we will do it in Hodeidah and Sana'a," said Defense Minister Katz.

Yemen-based Houthis have carried out attacks on commercial shipments in the Red Sea over the past year to try to impose a sea blockade on Israel.

The group said its actions were a form of solidarity with Palestine in Israel's one-year war in Gaza.

The late Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran on July 31, after participating in the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian the day before, with Iran blaming the move on Israel.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility by Israel for Haniyeh's murder at the time.

Haniyeh, who is usually based in Qatar, became the face of Hamas' international diplomacy during the war sparked by Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 has been raging in Gaza.

He has taken part in internationally brokered indirect negotiations to reach a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.

A few months later, Israeli forces in Gaza killed Yahya Sinwar, Haniyeh's successor and the mastermind behind the October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the latest bloodshed in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.