Defense Minister Confirms Israel’s Assassination of Hamas Leader Haniyeh in Tehran

Speaking at an event honoring security officers, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed for the first time that Israel had killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a targeted operation in Tehran in July, the BBC reported.
Katz mentioned the killing in the context of Israel’s broader strategy of dismantling leadership within Iran-backed groups and effectively issued a warning to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. If their attacks on Israel continued, Katz told the Israeli security officers, the Houthis would be decapitated, “just as [Israel] did to Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah.”
Haniyeh, 62, was widely recognized as Hamas’s political leader and played a key role in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza. His assassination in Tehran, carried out in a residential building where Haniyeh was staying, had been attributed to Israel by multiple sources but had not been confirmed until now. Haniyeh’s death spurred a significant escalation in Israel’s campaign against Hamas and its allied groups.
After Haniyeh’s killing, Hamas named Yahya Sinwar, a senior leader in Gaza and an architect of the October 7 attacks, as his successor. Sinwar, however, was also killed by Israeli forces during a military operation in Gaza, leaving Hamas in the process of selecting a new leader.
In his speech, Katz linked the operation against Haniyeh with Israel’s intensified actions against other regional leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah, who was killed in Beirut in September. Katz said, “Just as we did with Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon, we will strike hard at the Houthis in Hodeida and Sanaa.”
The Houthis have launched multiple missile and drone attacks on Israel since October, including a hypersonic ballistic missile strike that recently hit Tel Aviv. In response, Israel has carried out airstrikes on Houthi-controlled infrastructure in Yemen, with support from the U.S. and U.K.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced progress in ceasefire negotiations with Hamas but said no timeline for a deal could be given. Talks, reportedly 90% complete according to a senior Palestinian official, remain stalled over key issues.
Humanitarian groups have for more than a year repeatedly raised alarms over the dire conditions in Gaza, accusing Israel of deliberately obstructing aid and committing genocide against the Palestinian people.