Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Sunday that Israel was on the verge of achieving one of its goals: killing all the leaders of the organization behind the attacks on October 7, according to a statement from his office.
His comments followed the Israeli army’s announcement the previous day of the death of Ezzedine Al-Haddad, commander of the armed wing of Hamas, who died on Friday in a targeted airstrike in Gaza.
The day after the October 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israeli soil, Mr. Netanyahu had promised to hunt down the masterminds of the attack, which, according to an AFP tally based on official figures, has claimed 1,221 lives in Israel, mostly civilians.
“I promised that every architect of the massacre and hostage-taking would be eliminated until the last one, and we are very close to completing this mission,” Mr. Netanyahu declared during the weekly cabinet meeting, describing Ezzedine Al-Haddad as a “despicable terrorist.”
Since the deadly incursion into Israel by Hamas fighters and their allies on October 7, the army has also killed Yahya Sinouar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, considered the main mastermind of the October 7 attack.
Israel has also killed Mohammed Deif, a historic leader of the Hamas armed wing and another architect of the attack.
Mr. Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday that Israeli forces currently control 60% of Gaza’s territory.
This statement suggests that the army continues to expand its operational presence in the territory, following recent press reports claiming that Israeli troops had advanced towards a new so-called “orange line.”
According to the terms of the ceasefire negotiated by the United States between Israel and Hamas, in effect since October 10, Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw to a “yellow line” in Gaza, leaving them in control of more than 50% of the Palestinian territory.
“We hold Hamas accountable. We know exactly what our mission is, and our mission is to ensure that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel,” Mr. Netanyahu further stated.
The Israeli military campaign against Hamas since the October 2023 attacks has claimed at least 72,763 lives in Gaza, according to figures from the territory’s Health Ministry, controlled by Hamas, deemed reliable by the United Nations.
