Israel is planning to hunt down Hamas leaders around the world once it shifts away from fighting the group in Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Spy agencies have been ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to draw up plans to assassinate the group’s top leaders outside of Gaza, who live in Turkey, Qatar and elsewhere, the paper reports, citing Israeli officials.
In the 1970s, Israel embarked on a years-long campaign to assassinate Palestinian terrorists involved in the Munich Olympics massacre.
According to the report, some called for Israel to immediately assassinate Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and others following the October 7 attack. However, doing so on Qatari or Turkish soil could have strained or torpedoed diplomatic efforts to free hostages, and the idea was pushed off.
Former Chief of Hamas’ Political Bureau Khaled Meshaal speaks during conference in the Qatari capital, Doha on May 1, 2017. (KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
Netanyahu hinted at Israel’s plans for assassinations abroad in an address in late November, to the ire of some who preferred to keep the future campaign under wraps, according to the WSJ.
The paper also reports that Israel is looking into the possibility of expelling lower-level Hamas fighters from Gaza to shorten the war.
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Friday, December 1, 2023
