Israel’s Defense Minister says he is responsible for the killing of Hamas leader Haniyeh

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz acknowledged Monday for the first time publicly that Israel killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran in July, risking further tensions between Tehran and arch-enemy Israel in a region rocked by Israel’s war in Gaza and conflict. of Lebanon.

He said Israel had defeated Hamas and Hezbollah, “blinded” Iran’s defense systems and damaged its production systems. He also said that the country has overthrown the Assad regime in Syria, which led him to call the “axis of evil.”

“We will also face the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen, which is always the last thing.”

Israel will “damage their strategic infrastructure, and we will cut off the heads of their leaders – as we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon – we will do in Hodeidah and Sana’a,” Katz said during the night’s tribute. Department of Defense personnel.

An Iran-backed group in Yemen has been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea for more than a year in an attempt to enforce a naval blockade on Israel, saying it is working with the Palestinians in Israel’s year-long war in Gaza.

In late July, the political leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas was killed in Tehran in an assassination attempt by Iranian authorities who suspected Israel. There was no direct claim of Israeli responsibility for Haniya’s killing at the time.

Haniyeh, who is usually based in Qatar, has been the face of international negotiations for Hamas since the war, which began with an attack by the group led by Israel on October 7, 2023, in Gaza. He has been involved in informal negotiations organized by the international community on reaching a disarmament in the Palestinian territories.

Months ago, Israeli forces in Gaza killed Yahya Sinwar, Haniyeh’s successor and mastermind of the Oct. 7 attack.

Earlier this month, Syrian rebels overthrew the Assad regime. Israeli troops moved into a demilitarized zone in Syria last week, sparking accusations that the country is taking advantage of the chaos in the region to take over the world.