Israel’s defence minister threatened the Yemeni Houthis with retaliation for the strikes, saying the group’s leaders would be dealt with like Haniyeh, his successor Sinwar and Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, who were killed by the IDF.
Israel for the first time admitted involvement in the assassination of Hamas leader
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed for the first time that Israel was behind the assassination of the leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in late July in Tehran. At a memorial event for local security officials, the minister threatened Yemeni Houthis to retaliate against strikes on Israel. He said:
“We will strike the strategic infrastructure of the Houthis and behead their leaders. Just as we did to Haniyeh, his successor Yahya Sinwar and Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon, we will do in Hodeidah and Sanaa.”
The minister described the Houthis as the “last surviving” organisation in the so-called axis of evil (in which Israel includes Iran-backed groups).
Ismail Haniyeh, 62, was killed in a rocket attack on the building in Tehran where he was staying on the night of July 31. There he had arrived for the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, which took place on July 30. Hamas blamed Israel for the attack. The Israeli side did not comment on the incident.
Yahya Sinwar, 61, who took over as head of the Hamas politburo after Haniyeh’s death, was one of the group’s founders. He died in the Gaza Strip town of Rafah from a gunshot wound to the head in mid-October. The Israeli military stumbled upon Sinwar by chance while on patrol, a fight ensued. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reported that the Hamas leader died after a tank fired a shell at the building where he was staying.
Hassan Nasrallah, 64, was killed in an airstrike by Israeli forces on the group’s underground central headquarters in Beirut on the evening of September 27.
Gaza death toll rises amid ongoing Israeli strikes
Gaza health officials reported that 58 people were killed and 86 injured in Israeli military strikes on some areas of the region.
According to Palestinian media, the strikes over the past 24 hours targeted areas in the Gaza Strip, including a refugee camp in the Mawasi neighborhood.
Gaza health officials said that the total number of casualties of the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip reached 45,317 dead and more than 107,000 wounded.
Despite ongoing ceasefire and hostage release talks, Israeli attacks on parts of the Gaza Strip have continued.
