Esmail Khatib has been killed in an overnight airstrike, according to Israel's defence minister, though Iran has not confirmed the claim yet. The defence minister adds that "significant surprises" are expected today.
"On this day, significant surprises are expected across all arenas that will escalate the war we are conducting against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon," Katz says during a security assessment, according to remarks provided by his office.
"The intensity of the strikes in Iran is increasing. The Iranian intelligence minister Khatib was also eliminated overnight," he says. Katz adds that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have "authorized the IDF to [eliminate] any senior Iranian figure... without the need for additional approval."