Khaled Meshaal, a founder of Hamas, survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Jordan in 1997 (Photo: Reuters).
Ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's top intelligence agencies are planning to hunt down Hamas leaders living in Lebanon, Turkey and Qatar, according to officials familiar with the matter.
These people reveal that Israeli leaders are no longer preoccupied with the question of whether to try to take out Hamas leaders around the world , but rather where and how to carry out the plan.
Mr. Netanyahu implicitly expressed the above intention in his national speech on November 22.
"I have instructed Mossad to take action against Hamas leaders wherever they are," he said. Mossad is one of Israel's intelligence agencies.
In the same speech, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Hamas leaders were living on "borrowed time."
Israel's plan to target Hamas leaders began taking shape soon after October 7, when Hamas militants launched a cross-border attack into Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli government figures.
Sources told the Wall Street Journal that some Israeli officials wanted to immediately launch a campaign to eliminate Hamas leaders living abroad.
They later held back, fearing that taking out the Hamas leader based in Qatar could hamper hostage negotiations, but planning continued.
(From left) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Mr. Benny Gantz - Minister without portfolio in Israel's wartime cabinet (Photo: Reuters).
Assassinations abroad can violate international law and risk a harsh response from the host country. But in fact, Israel has carried out several assassinations in the past regardless of the consequences, according to the Wall Street Journal .
Netanyahu's vow to hunt down Hamas leaders worldwide has sparked debate among former Israeli intelligence officials.
Efraim Halevy, former head of the Mossad, said this was not advisable because it would not eliminate the threat. Instead, it would likely embolden Hamas members and lead to even greater threats.
“The global pursuit of Hamas and the systematic elimination of all its leaders is about revenge, not about achieving a strategic goal,” Halevy said.
Amos Yadlin, a retired Israeli general who once headed the army's intelligence agency, said the operation was "what justice demands".
“All Hamas leaders, all those who participated in the attack, those who planned the attack, those who ordered the attack, must be brought to justice or eliminated,” Yadlin said. “That is the right policy.”
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