Defense Minister Israel Katz warns Houthi rebels that Israel will “behead” its leaders as it did Hamas.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has publicly acknowledged for the first time that his country assassinated Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and warned that Yemen-based Houthis would also suffer a “serious blow.”
Speaking Monday night at an event honoring Defense Department personnel, Katz said Israel has “delivered a serious blow to the axis of evil, and we will also deal a serious blow to the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen, which is the last one standing.” move”. .
“If the Houthi terrorist organization fires rockets at Israel, I would like to begin my remarks by sending them a clear message: we defeated Hamas, we defeated Hezbollah, we blinded Iran’s defense systems and damaged its production systems. “We overthrew the Assad regime in Syria,” Katz said.
Israel will “damage the Houthis’ strategic infrastructure, and we will behead their leaders – as we did with Haniyeh, Sinwar and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon – we will do it in (Yemen’s) Hodeidah and Sanaa.” Katz added. referring to the subsequent killings of Hamas’ Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The Houthis have carried out numerous rocket attacks on Israel in recent months, including an attack on Tel Aviv on Saturday with what the Houthis described as a hypersonic ballistic missile.
More than a dozen people were slightly injured when the rocket evaded Israeli defense systems and hit a public park in Jaffa.
Haniyeh was assassinated on July 31 while visiting Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian.
According to Iranian state media reports at the time, the Hamas leader and his bodyguard were killed when an “air-guided projectile” hit a special residence for military veterans where he was staying in northern Tehran around 2 a.m. local time.
Iranian and Palestinian officials blamed Israel for the attack, but Israeli officials had not yet confirmed or denied involvement.
Haniyeh’s killing sparked anger across Palestine and stoked fears of a wider regional conflict, with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promising “harsh punishments” in retaliation.
In October, Iran fired rockets at several Israeli cities in what it said was retaliation for the killing of the leaders of its allies Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Israeli army said only “few” hits were recorded in the central and southern parts of the country, while the Israeli emergency service said two people were injured by falling shrapnel in the Tel Aviv area.
No Israeli deaths were reported. A man was killed by falling debris in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian authorities said.
