In the current war in Gaza, ‘Israel’s Central Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations’ – or ‘Mossad’ – is destined to play a critical role, particularly, in light of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration, in a press conference, that he has instructed Mossad ‘to target the heads of Hamas wherever they may be’. To ‘target’ means to kill them. ‘Wherever they may be’ is a reference to those Hamas leaders who reside and operate outside of the Gaza Strip, mainly in Qatar, Lebanon, and Turkey.
Netanyahu’s bold words were reinforced by his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, who stated that all Hamas leaders are ‘walking dead…. they are living on borrowed time’, and that: ‘The struggle is worldwide: From gunman in the field [in Gaza] to those living abroad.’ To be sure, it is unlikely that Hamas leaders in Qatar and elsewhere, were even consulted ahead of the brutal 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, but Israel regards them as part of the Hamas machine and, as such, considers them legitimate targets. The body that will turn Netanyahu’s words into an action plan is Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, responsible for intelligence collection, analysis, and covert operations, notably assassinations.