Defence Minister Israel Katz warns Houthi rebels that Israel will ‘behead’ its leaders as it did to Hamas.
Israel’s Minister of Defence Israel Katz has publicly admitted to the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, and has issued a warning to the Yemen-based Houthis, stating that they will also face a “severe blow”.
During an event honoring Defence Ministry personnel on Monday evening, Katz declared, “We have dealt a severe blow to the axis of evil, and we will also deal a severe blow to the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen, which remains the last to stand.”
Katz emphasized, “Israel will damage [Houthi] strategic infrastructure, and we will behead their leaders – just as we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon – we will do it in [Yemen’s] Hodeidah and Sanaa.”
The Houthis have recently conducted multiple missile attacks on Israel, including a strike on Tel Aviv using a hypersonic ballistic missile, resulting in injuries to several individuals.
Haniyeh was assassinated on July 31 while in Tehran for the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Iranian and Palestinian officials attributed the assassination to Israel, sparking outrage and concerns of a wider regional conflict.
In retaliation, Iran launched missiles at Israeli cities, resulting in injuries but no reported deaths.
