Hassan Nasrallah meanwhile was the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah - he was assassinated in Beirut in September as Israel dramatically escalated its military campaign against Hezbollah, with which it had been trading near daily cross-border fire since the day after the 7 October attacks.

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 Katz, speaking at event honoring security officers, says Iranian-backed Houthi group in Yemen will be decapitated, 'just as [Israel] did to Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah' The post Defense minister confirms Israel was behind July killing of Hamas leader Haniyeh appeared first on The Times of Israel.

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.

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

In the months that followed, Israel directly attacked Iran, assassinated Nasrallah and invaded southern Lebanon. In November it agreed to a US-backed ceasefire in Lebanon that enshrined its right to unilaterally enforce any alleged violations by Hezbollah.

The actions of the Israeli military had a "circumstantial influence" on a decision by Hamas militants to kill six hostages in Gaza in August, according to a military investigation published on Tuesday.