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Israel claims responsibility for July killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh

Haniyeh was killed in Tehran in an assassination Iran blamed on Israel. (Reuters: Mohammed Salem/File)

In short:

Israel has admitted for the first time publicly to Israel's killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Iranian authorities blamed the assassination of Haniyeh in July on Israel.

The Israel Defence Minister acknowledged responsibility while warning that the military would "decapitate" Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Israel's Defence Minister has admitted for the first time publicly to Israel's killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran earlier this year.

In July, Hamas's top political leader was killed in Tehran in an assassination blamed on Israel by Iranian authorities.

There was no direct claim of responsibility by Israel for the killing of Haniyeh at the time.

Defence Minister Israel Katz acknowledged responsibility while warning that the military would "decapitate" the leadership of Yemen's Houthi rebels.

"We have defeated Hamas, we have defeated Hezbollah, we have blinded Iran's defence systems and damaged the production systems," he said.

"We have toppled the Assad regime in Syria, we have dealt a severe blow to the axis of evil, and we will also deal a severe blow to the Houthi terrorist organisation in Yemen, which remains the last to stand."

Israel claims responsibility for July killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh

Isreal Katz made the admission while threatening to "decapitate" the Houthis. (Reuters: Ronen)

Mr Katz said Israel would behead the Houthis' leaders just as they did to Hamas's Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, as well as Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah.

The Houthis have been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea for more than a year to try to enforce a naval blockade on Israel.

The Iran-backed group in Yemen have said they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Israel's year-long war in Gaza.

Haniyeh, normally based in Qatar, had been the face of Hamas's international diplomacy as the war set off by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7.

He had taken part in internationally brokered indirect talks on reaching a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.

Months after, Israeli forces in Gaza killed Haniyeh's successor, Yahya Sinwar, who was also the mastermind of the October 7 attack.

Reuters

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