Israel has acknowledged its responsibility for the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran.

In his speech, the current head of Israel's Ministry of Defense emphasized: "In these days, as the terrorist organization Houthis launches rockets at Israel, I would like to send them a clear message: We have defeated Hamas, we have defeated Hezbollah, we have blinded Iran's defense system and damaged its production capabilities, we have toppled the Assad regime in Syria, and we have dealt a serious blow to the axis of evil. We will also strike hard against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen, who remain the last bastion of resistance."

Israel will incapacitate their strategic infrastructure, we will decapitate their command, just as we did with Haniya, Sinwar, and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon. We will do this in Hodeidah and Sana'a, Katz stated during an evening event honoring the military personnel of the Ministry of Defense.

The Iran-backed group in Yemen has been attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea for over two years, attempting to strengthen the maritime blockade against Israel. They claim to act in solidarity with the Palestinians in the war Israel is waging in Gaza, which has been ongoing since October 7, 2023.

At the end of July, the political leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas was killed in Tehran as a result of an attack, which Iranian authorities attributed to Israel. While, as noted by Reuters, the Israelis have not claimed responsibility for Haniya's assassination.

Haniya's permanent residence was in Qatar, where the Hamas leader represented himself as the face of Palestinian diplomacy. Haniya was also involved in international efforts to facilitate indirect negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, writes Reuters.