Israel says to hunt down Hamas ‘in Gaza and around the world’

By Abdul Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel vowed on Wednesday to hunt down Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip and around the world.

“There will be no sanctuary cities, no sanctuary houses. We will go wherever we need to in order to eradicate…(Hamas) above and below ground. In Gaza and around the world,” war cabinet minister Benny Gantz told a press conference in Tel Aviv.

“We will reach the heads of government just as we reached the centers of government,” he added.

Gantz, a former defense minister, also threatened a military offensive against Lebanese group Hezbollah amid rising tensions along the border between Israel and Lebanon.

“What we’re doing effectively in the south, can work even better in the north, if necessary,” he added.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 11,320 Palestinians have been killed, including nearly 7,800 women and children, and over 29,200 others have been injured, according to the latest figures from Palestinian authorities.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques, and churches, have been damaged or destroyed in the Israeli offensive.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, stands at 1,200, according to official figures.

*Writing by Ziad Aslan in Ankara