Israel-Gaza war: Netanyahu says Hamas leaders ‘are all dead men’, insists on total victory
- Prime minister declares Israel ‘on the way to total victory’ five months into the war
- Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas deadlocked at the beginning of Ramadan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday reaffirmed his intention to lead the country to “total victory” in the war in the Gaza Strip against the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, despite efforts to organise a ceasefire.
“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,” he said in a video message on Monday. “They are all dead men, we will reach them all,” he added.
The targeted killing was attributed to Israel at the time, which has not yet commented on it. With Netanyahu’s video message, Israel is likely to have admitted responsibility for the attack for the first time.
Al-Arouri was responsible within Hamas for maintaining close relations with the pro-Iranian Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon. He was therefore also of central importance for the procurement of weapons for the Islamists in the Gaza Strip.
