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.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
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
From the Liveblog of
Friday, December 1, 2023
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
