Hassan Nasrallah meanwhile was the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah - he was assassinated in Beirut in September as Israel dramatically escalated its military campaign against Hezbollah, with which it had been trading near daily cross-border fire since the day after the 7 October attacks.

Israel Katz, speaking at event honoring security officers, says Iranian-backed Houthi group in Yemen will be decapitated, 'just as [Israel] did to Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah' The post Defense minister confirms Israel was behind July killing of Hamas leader Haniyeh appeared first on The Times of Israel.

Israel has admitted responsibility for assassinating Hamas’ then leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran last summer. In a speech on Monday, Foreign Minister Israel Katz acknowledged that Israeli forces were behind the killing of Haniyeh, who died in an explosion in Tehran in July.

Defence Minister Israel Katz on Monday acknowledged that Israel had killed former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this year, as he warned the military would "decapitate" the leadership of Yemen's Huthi rebels.

Defence chief Israel Katz publicly admitted to killing Ismail Haniyeh in Iran in July, further risks tensions between Iran and Israel.

Ismail Haniyeh led Gaza ceasefire talks when an explosive device planted by Israeli operatives weeks earlier killed him.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz admitted on Monday for the first time publicly to Israel's killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran in July, further risking tensions between Tehran and its arch-enemy Israel in a region shaken by Israel's war in Gaza and the conflict in Lebanon.

Ismail Haniyeh's killing had escalated fears of an all-out war in the region, prompting the US to deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships.