The Israeli Defence Minister also threatened to take similar action against the leadership of the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. Katz also warned that the Houthis would meet a similar fate. The warning against the Houthis came as the Iran-backed outfit has launched scores of missiles and drones at Israel throughout the war.
For the first time since the assassination of Hamas Chief Ismail Hanieh in Iran's capital Tehran in July, Israel's defense minister Israel Katz confirmed that Israel was behind the attack. Despite the delay in confirmation, Israel was widely believed to be the perpetrator as leaders previously hinted at its involvement.
The Israeli minister also threatened to take similar action against the leadership of the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. Katz also warned that the Houthis would meet a similar fate. 바카라We will strike (the Houthis') strategic infrastructure and cut off the head of the leadership,바카라 he said.
바카라Just like we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon, we will do in Hodeida and Sanaa,바카라 he said, referring to Hamas and Hezbollah leaders killed in previous Israeli attacks.
The warning against the Houthis came as the Iran-backed outfit has launched scores of missiles and drones at Israel throughout the war. In retaliation, Israel has carried out three sets of airstrikes in Yemen during the war and vowed to step up the pressure in future.
Speaking with television channel CBS, two recently retired senior Israeli intelligence agents disclosed fresh details on the deadly clandestine operation targeting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon using exploding pagers and walkie-talkies three months ago.
According to the Associated Press, the agents with their masks on face and altered voices spoke with CBS '60 Minutes' in a segment aired Sunday night.
One of the agents said the operation started 10 years ago using walkie-talkies laden with hidden explosives, which Hezbollah didn't realise it was buying from Israel, its enemy. The walkie-talkies were not detonated until September, a day after booby-trapped pagers were set off.
According to him, the Phase two of the plan that involved using the booby-trapped pagers, kicked in in 2022 after Israel's Mossad intelligence agency learned Hezbollah had been buying pagers from a Taiwan-based company, the second officer said.
The pagers had to be made slightly larger to accommodate the explosives hidden inside. They were tested on dummies multiple times to find the right amount of explosive that would hurt only the Hezbollah fighter and not anyone else in close proximity.
Mossad also tested numerous ring tones to find one that sounded urgent enough to make someone pull the pager out of their pocket.
The second agent, who went by the name 바카라Gabriel,바카라 said it took two weeks to convince Hezbollah to switch to the heftier pager, in part by using false ads on YouTube promoting the devices as dustproof, waterproof, providing a long battery life and more.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 22 people across the Gaza Strip while Gaza's small Christian community celebrated a pre-Christmas Mass. According to Palestinian medical officials, the deceased included five children. The ever-present buzz of Israeli drones was heard outside the Mass.
Right ahead of Christmas, the Israeli authorities allowed a rare Gaza visit by the leader of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa for the Mass.
One of the latest Israeli strikes hit a school housing displaced people in Gaza City and killed at least eight, including three children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israel's military said it struck Hamas militants sheltering there.
A strike on a home in the central city of Deir al-Balah late Saturday killed at least eight, including three women and two children, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Israel's military said it struck an Islamic Jihad militant. Another six people were killed in separate strikes on Sunday, according to local hospitals.