Israel’s Netanyahu threatens to kill top Hamas leaders in Gaza

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Monday to kill the three top leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas amid Tel Aviv’s ongoing offensive on the Palestinian enclave.

“We are on the way to total victory. On the way to this victory, we already eliminated number four in Hamas. Three, two, and one are on the way,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.

Though Netanyahu did not name Hamas’ number four, he was apparently referring to Saleh al-Arouri, who was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon in January.

Israeli media named Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Deif and Marwan Isa as the three Hamas leaders classified as most wanted by Israel.

Israeli Army Radio said Isa was targeted in an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Monday.

Israel did not confirm his death, and there was no comment from Hamas.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas in which nearly 1,200 people were killed.

More than 31,100 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 72,700 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar