Israel defence minister vows to ’decapitate’ Houthi leaders

Israel’s defence minister warns Houthi commanders they can expect the same fate as the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, who were assassinated in Tehran and Beirut earlier this year.

Houthis rally in Sana’a in protest against Israel's attacks on Lebanon. Picture: AFP.

Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz has warned the leadership of Yemen’s Houthis they can expect the same fate as the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, who were assassinated in Tehran and Beirut earlier this year.

Acknowledging for the first time that the Israeli Defence Forces were behind the death of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, assassinated in Tehran in July, Mr Katz said the IDF would “decapitate” the leaders of the Iran-backed Houthis.

“We will strike hard at the Houthis … and decapitate their leadership – just as we did with Haniyeh, (Yahya) Sinwar, and (Hassan) Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon, we will do so in Hodeida and Sanaa,” Mr Katz said.

“Anyone who raises a hand against Israel will have his hand cut off, and the long arm of the IDF (Israeli military) will strike him and hold him accountable,” he added, according to a statement issued by the ministry.

Until now Israel had never admitted to killing Haniyeh, but Iran and Hamas had blamed it for the Hamas political leader’s death.

Haniyeh, who was seen as leading Hamas’s negotiation efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza, was killed in a guesthouse in Tehran on July 31, reportedly by an explosive device that had been placed by Israeli operatives weeks before.

A day earlier, Haniyeh had attended the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

On September 27, Israel killed Nasrallah in a Beirut bombing, which was followed by the killing of Haniyeh’s successor Sinwar on October 16 in Gaza.

Israeli officials say Sinwar masterminded the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, which sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

AFP