Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz appeared to confirm today the assassination of Mohammed Sinwar, the de facto leader of Hamas in Gaza, marking a huge blow to the terrorist group’s leadership. Katz also issued a stark threat to the Iran-backed Houthi leaders in Yemen, vowing to obliterate them, just hours after Israeli jets launched a series of airstrikes on Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen.

Mohammed Sinwar was killed three days ago during a precision airstrike on the European Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. The IDF said the hospital housed a Hamas command-and-control hub. Sinwar, who had taken over as a key figure in Hamas’s military wing following the assassination of his brother Yahya Sinwar in October 2024, was a high-priority target for Israel. Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 Israelis, had been eliminated on Sukkos. Mohammed Sinwar’s death further decimates Hamas’s leadership, with other senior figures like Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh also killed by Israel in recent months.

Israel turned its attention to Yemen earlier today, where the Houthi movement has escalated its attacks on Israeli targets. Israeli jets bombed Houthi-controlled ports in Hodeidah and Salif, critical infrastructure hubs, in retaliation for a series of missile and drone strikes on Israel.

In his X post, Katz declared, “The IDF has just struck and severely damaged ports in Yemen under the control of the Houthi terror organization… As we have said: if the Houthis continue firing missiles at the State of Israel, they will suffer painful blows.” He explicitly threatened Houthi leaders, stating, “We will hunt down and eliminate Abdul Malik al-Houthi in Yemen,” likening their fate to that of Hamas leaders Mohammed Deif and “the Sinwars”, Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, and Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran—all of whom Israel has killed in targeted operations over the past year.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)