Israel: Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has confirmed for the first time that Israel was responsible for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran this past July. Speaking in a speech, Katz reaffirmed Israel’s objective to target key leaders of the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen, which has established missile and drone attacks on Israel.
Haniyeh, who was a central figure in Hamas, was killed in a building in Tehran, an attack attributed to Israel. Katz also vowed to resume Israel’s strategy of “decapitating” the leadership of militant groups, mentioning past operations against Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
In a separate development, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that progress had been made toward a potential ceasefire agreement with Hamas, but added that no timeline could be delivered for when a deal would be finalised. A senior Palestinian official argued that talks between Hamas and Israel were approaching completion, with only a few key issues remaining.
The Houthis, who have been involved in the conflict since Israel’s military campaign against Hamas began last October, have attacked Israeli and international ships and vowed to resume their attacks until the war in Gaza ends.
The Israeli military reported an unsuccessful attempt to intercept a missile launched from Yemen, which hit a park in Tel Aviv. The Houthis claimed to have hit a military target with a hypersonic ballistic missile.
Israel’s military has reacted by targeting Houthi military sites in Yemen, including ports and energy infrastructure in the capital, Sanaa. Meanwhile, the ongoing war in Gaza has claimed more than 45,317 lives, according to Hamas-run health reports. Israel also verified the deaths of three of its soldiers in northern Gaza.
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