JERUSALEM – Israel's defense minister has confirmed that Israel assassinated the top leader of Hamas last summer and is threatening to do the same against the leadership of the Houthi rebel group in Yemen.
The comments by Israel Katz appear to mark the first time Israel has admitted to killing Ismail Haniyeh, who died in an explosion in Iran in July. Israel was widely believed to be behind the blast and leaders have been implicated before.
In a speech on Monday, Katz said the Houthis will face a similar fate as the other members of the Iranian-led alliance in the region, including Haniyeh. He also noted that Israel has killed other Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, helped defeat Bashar Assad in Syria and destroyed Iranian anti-aircraft systems.
“We will hit (the Houthis') strategic infrastructure and cut off the commander in chief,” he said.
“Just as we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon, we will do in Hodeida and Sanaa,” he said, referring to Hamas and Hezbollah leaders killed in previous Israeli attacks .
The Houthis, backed by Iran, have launched dozens of missiles and drones at Israel during the war, including a missile that landed in Tel Aviv on Saturday and injured at least 16 people .
Israel has carried out three sets of airstrikes in Yemen during the war and vowed to put pressure on the rebel group until the missile attacks stop.
Also on Monday, the UN food agency reported that 23 trucks in a 66-truck convoy carrying food and other humanitarian supplies to central Gaza were looted and lost.
UN joint spokeswoman Stephanie Tremblay said the World Food Program convoy left from the Kerem Shalon crossing through the recently approved Philadelphia corridor on Sunday.
Despite Israeli assurances that safety conditions would be in place, she said an airstrike took place.
Tremblay said the first 35 trucks went to the WFP warehouse without loss. She said the Israel Defense Forces delayed the rest of the convoy.
News of the convoy's movement spread, Tremblay said, leading to looting along the way, with a total of 43 trucks reaching the warehouse and another 23 lost.
She said it is “another example of why we continue to emphasize the need for safe and unhindered assistance to reach the numbers who need it the most.”
