Israel Confirms It Assassinated Hamas Leader Haniyeh

Defense Minister Israel Katz acknowledged the July 31 hit. He threatened Yemen’s Houthi rebels with strikes like those against Hamas’s and Hezbollah’s leaders.

People gather during a funeral procession for Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Hamas terrorist group, and his bodyguard, who were killed in an assassination in Tehran, Iran, the day before, on Aug. 1, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/Getty Images

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Dec. 23 that Israel was behind the July 31 assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

It was the first time Israel formally admitted the intelligence coup, which it was widely assumed to have masterminded.