Israel’s defense minister acknowledges it killed Hamas leader

The comments by Israel Katz appeared to mark the first time that Israel has acknowledged killing Ismail Haniyeh, who died in an explosion in Iran in July. Israel was widely believed to be behind the blast and leaders have previously hinted at its involvement.

In a speech Monday, Katz said the Houthis would meet a similar fate as the other members of an Iranian-led alliance in the region, including Haniyeh. He also noted that Israel has killed other leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, helped topple Syria’s Bashar Assad and destroyed Iran’s anti-aircraft systems.

“We will strike (the Houthis’) strategic infrastructure and cut off the head of the leadership,” he said.

“Just like we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon, we will do in Hodeida and Sanaa,” he said, referring to Hamas and Hezbollah leaders killed in previous Israeli attacks.

The Iranian-backed Houthis have launched scores of missiles and drones at Israel throughout the war, including a missile that landed in Tel Aviv on Saturday and wounded at least 16 people.

Israel has carried out three sets of airstrikes in Yemen during the war and vowed to step up the pressure on the terrorist group until the missile attacks stop.

Three soldiers killed in combat in Gaza

The Israeli military said three soldiers were killed Monday in combat in northern Gaza.

The military did not provide details of the circumstances. According to a statement released Sunday, the brigade in which the three were serving completed its operational activities in the northern town of Beit Lahiya on Sunday. It then began operating in the nearby town of Beit Hanoun following intelligence suggesting the presence of terrorists there.

Since the start of the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, 389 Israeli soldiers have been killed.

‘Progress’ in ceasefire talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday there is “some progress” in efforts to reach a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza, although he added he could not give a time frame for a possible agreement.

Of the roughly 250 people who were taken hostage in the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war, around 100 are still inside the Gaza Strip, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Speaking in the Knesset, Netanyahu said “we are taking significant actions through all channels to return our loved ones. I would like to tell you cautiously that there is some progress.”

Netanyahu said he could not reveal details of what was being done to secure the return of hostages. He said the main reasons for the progress were the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Israel’s military actions against Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists who had been firing rockets into Israel from neighboring Lebanon in support of Hamas.

“Hamas hoped that Iran and Hezbollah would come to its aid but they are busy licking the wounds from the blows we inflicted on them,” he said, adding that Israel was also putting “relentless military pressure” on Hamas in Gaza.

“There is progress. I don’t know how long it will take,” Netanyahu said.

Drone from Yemen shot down

JERUSALEM — Israel’s military said Monday it intercepted a drone launched from Yemen before it entered Israeli territory, days after a long-range rocket attack by Yemen’s Houthi terrorists hit Tel Aviv, injuring 16 people from shattered glass.

The military said no air raid warning sirens were sounded Monday. Israel says the Iran-backed Houthis have fired more than 200 missiles and UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The Houthis have also been attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden — attacks they say won’t stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.

The attacks on shipping and Israel are taking place despite U.S. and European warships patrolling the area. On Saturday night and early Sunday, the U.S. conducted airstrikes on Yemen. Last week, Israel launched its own airstrikes on Yemen, killing at least nine people, and a Houthi missile damaged a school in Israel.

Aid trucks plundered in central Gaza

The U.N. food agency reported that 23 trucks in a 66-truck convoy carrying food and other humanitarian supplies to central Gaza were plundered and lost.

U.N. associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said Monday that the World Food Program convoy departed from the Kerem Shalon crossing via the recently approved Philadelphi Corridor on Sunday.

Tremblay said the first 35 trucks made it to a WFP warehouse without losses.

News of the convoy’s movement spread, Tremblay said, leading to plundering along the way, with a total of 43 trucks making it to the warehouse while 23 others were lost.