All of Hamas’s leaders have gone into hiding underground in fear of Israel eliminating them through targeted killings, Ynet reported on Motzei Shabbos.

According to the report, all senior members of the Hamas military and political wing are working from top-secret locations.

Last week, both Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz threatened to target Hamas leaders if the escalation of terror from the Gaza Strip continues.

In addition to the Israeli leaders’ publicly announced threats, Egyptian officials warned Hamas earlier this month that Israel will target Hamas leaders if the terror continues. Hamas leaders responded by saying that “they will burn Tel Aviv with thousands of missiles as well as things the occupation does not expect,” if Israel dares target them.

Gantz said last week: “From the time I entered office, there are no security violations that are not met with a response. We know not only how to strike compounds and terror targets but those operating in them as well.”

“[Hamas] needs to understand that what happened last time will happen to them now twofold, to them and to the Islamic Jihad,” Netanyahu said. “They saw that we are ready to use all means, including targeted counter-measures if things develop.”

Israel carried out a number of targeted killings in the early 2000s but has done so only rarely since then, with the most recent one eliminating Islamic Jihad leader Baha Abu al-Ata on November 12, 2019.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)