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

In his speech, the current head of the Israeli Ministry of Defense emphasized: "In these days, as the terrorist organization Houthis fires rockets at Israel, I want 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 Assad's regime in Syria, we have dealt a serious blow to the axis of evil. And we will also deliver a heavy blow to the Houthi terrorists in Yemen, who remain the last bastion of resistance."

Israel will incapacitate their strategic infrastructure; we will decapitate their command structure, just as we did with Haniya, Sinwar, and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon. We will do this in Hodeidah and Sana'a, said Katz 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, aiming 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 in an attack for which Iranian authorities blamed 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 presented himself as the face of Palestinian diplomacy. Haniya was also involved in international efforts to organize indirect negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, writes Reuters.