Since launching its retaliatory war in Gaza, Israel claims to have eliminated the leaders of militant groups including, Sinwar, the mastermind of the 7 October attack on Israel, and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an airstrike on a building complex in Beirut.

Israel's defence minister has confirmed that the IDF assassinated former Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this year. He went on to warn that the military would also "decapitate" the leadership of Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an explosion in a high-security guesthouse in Iran’s capital Tehran in July

On Sept 27, Israel killed Hezbollah leader Nasrallah in a Beirut bombing, which was followed by the killing of Haniyeh's successor Sinwar on Oct 16 in Gaza. Israeli officials said Sinwar masterminded the Oct 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel, which sparked Israel's current military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

Defence Minister Israel Katz on Monday acknowledged that Israel had killed former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this year, as he warned the military would "decapitate" the leadership of Yemen's Huthi rebels.

Gaza Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz acknowledged on Monday that Israel assassinated the former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July this year, threatening to similarly eradicate the top leaders of Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Israel Katz admitted for the first time publicly to Israel's killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran in July, further risking tensions in the region.

In a first, Israel's defense minister Israel Katz confirmed that Israel had assassinated Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniyeh last summer and is threatening to take similar action against the leadership of the Houthi rebel group in Yemen.