PM Netanyahu says Israel is close to killing all architects of Oct 7 attacks

JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on May 17 that Israel had almost completed a key goal of the war in Gaza – eliminating all those responsible for orchestrating the Oct 7 attacks.

His remarks followed the Israeli military’s announcement that Izz al-Din al-Haddad, commander of Hamas’ armed wing, was killed in an air strike in Gaza on May 15.

In the aftermath of the Oct 7 assault, Mr Netanyahu pledged to target and eliminate the masterminds behind the attacks, which, according to an AFP tally based on official figures, left 1,221 people dead in Israel.

“I promised that every single architect of the massacre and the hostage-taking would be eliminated down to the last one, and we are very close to completing this mission,” Mr Netanyahu said during the weekly Cabinet meeting, describing Haddad as a “despicable terrorist”.

Since Hamas’ cross-border assault, the Israeli military and intelligence services have waged a campaign targeting the group’s senior political leaders and militant commanders in Gaza and across the region.

During the war triggered by the Hamas attacks, Israel has claimed responsibility for assassinating several Hamas leaders, including the group’s former political chief Ismail Haniyeh.

Israeli soldiers also killed Yahya Sinwar, who was widely regarded as a key mastermind behind the October 7 attack.

Mohammed Deif, the longtime commander of Hamas’s armed wing and considered an architect of the attack, was also killed during the war.

Israeli strikes have also targeted Hamas operatives in Lebanon, as well as senior Iran-backed Hezbollah commanders allied with the group, including former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Mr Netanyahu, meanwhile, reiterated on May 17 that Israeli forces currently control 60 per cent of Gaza’s territory.

The statement suggests that the military has continued to expand its operational presence in Gaza, following recent media reports that Israeli troops had advanced toward a newly designated “Orange Line”.

Under the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in effect since Oct 10, Israeli forces were to withdraw to a so-called “Yellow Line” in Gaza, leaving them in control of more than 50 per cent of the Palestinian territory.

“We have Hamas in our grip. We know exactly what our mission is, and our mission is: to ensure that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel,” Mr Netanyahu said.

Israel’s military campaign against Hamas since the October 2023 attacks has killed more than 72,763 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which operates under Hamas authority.

Despite an October ceasefire, Gaza remains gripped by daily violence as Israeli strikes continue, with both the military and Hamas accusing one another of violating the truce.

At least 871 Palestinians have been killed since the truce began, according to the territory’s health ministry.

The United Nations considers these figures reliable.

Over the same period, the Israeli military said five soldiers have been killed in Gaza. AFP