Netanyahu says Israel is close to the goal of killing all those responsible for the October 7 attacks
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel is close to achieving one of its goals, which is to kill all those responsible for organizing the attacks on October 7, 2023, according to a statement from his press office, quoted by AFP and Agerpres.
On Saturday, the Israeli army announced the death of Ezzedine al-Haddad, the commander of the armed wing of Hamas, who was killed in a targeted airstrike in Gaza on Friday.
“We have promised that every architect of the massacre and hostage-taking will be eliminated down to the last one, and we are very close to completing this mission,” Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, calling Ezzedine al-Haddad a “vile terrorist.”
Since the deadly incursion into Israel by Hamas fighters and their allies on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military has killed Yahya Sinwar – the leader of Hamas in Gaza, considered the main mastermind of the attack – and Mohammed Deif – the head of Hamas's armed wing and another key architect of the attack.
In Sunday's meeting, Netanyahu said that Israeli forces currently control 60 percent of the territory of the Gaza Strip.
The statement implied that the army continued to expand its operational presence in the territory after recent media reports claimed that Israeli troops had advanced towards a new so-called “Orange Line”.
Under the terms of the US-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas, effective October 10, Israeli forces were to withdraw to a “yellow line” in Gaza, leaving the Palestinians in control of more than 50 percent of the territory.
“We have Hamas at our fingertips. We know exactly what our mission is, and that is to make sure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu added.
