Israeli Defense Minister Acknowledges for the First Time: We Killed Haniyeh in Tehran

On Monday, December 24, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz acknowledged for the first time that Ismail Haniyeh, the former leader of the Palestinian group Hamas, was killed by Israel in Tehran. During a military ceremony, he stated, "We will strike the Houthi leaders, just as we did with Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah." He also attributed the downfall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria to Israel, adding, "In these days when the terrorist group Houthis from Yemen are attacking Israel, I want to send a clear message: we defeated Hamas, we overcame Hezbollah, we disabled Iran's defense systems, and we struck their military infrastructure. We toppled the Assad regime in Syria, severely weakened the axis of evil, and soon we will deliver a heavy blow to the terrorist group Houthi, which continues to attack Israel." Until now, Israel had not admitted to killing Ismail Haniyeh, but the Islamic Republic and Hamas had always claimed that Israel was responsible for the death of the Hamas political leader. Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas's political bureau, was killed in his residence in Tehran on Wednesday, July 31, while attending the swearing-in ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian. The Fars news agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, announced on the same day that he had been killed by "projectile impact." The British newspaper Telegraph reported on August 1 that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, by hiring forces from the Revolutionary Guards, had bombed the building where Ismail Haniyeh was staying in Tehran and killed him. Ali Younesi, a former Iranian intelligence minister, stated in a 2020 interview: "All officials of the Islamic Republic should be concerned for their lives, and if Israel has not targeted Iranian political officials yet, it is because it has not decided to do so." Israeli media: Iran and Yemen are two options for Netanyahu's response to the Houthis. Netanyahu: We will prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons. Netanyahu to the people of Iran: The Islamic Republic has stolen your money and wasted it. Developments in Syria under scrutiny by users: "A deadly blow" to the Islamic Republic. Prince Reza Pahlavi: The regime's missile attack on Israel was a declaration of war against the Iranian nation.