In a new video statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is 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. They are all dead men. We will get them all," Netanyahu said, apparently referring to the fate of Hamas's number three, Marwan Issa, the deputy head of the terror group's military wing.
On March 10, Issa was reportedly targeted in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip. A day later, the IDF said that it had targeted a house in Nuseirat, where, according to Israeli intelligence, Issa was hiding.
The attack took place shortly after midnight. Sources in Gaza reported that the Israeli Air Force targeted several houses in the Nuseirat area, as well as targets between the Ahmed Yassin mosque and the new city market in the center of the Strip. An unusual internet and communication blackout accompanied the attack. The IDF has not confirmed whether Issa was eliminated.
At the time of the strike, another senior Hamas commander, Razi Abu Tama'ah, may have been near Marwan Issa.
Besides Marwan Issa, Netanyahu was apparently referring to Yahya Sinwar (Hamas leader in Gaza), Mohammed Deif (founder of Hamas's military wing), and Saleh al-Arouri (a member of Hamas' politburo). Al-Arouri was killed in an airstrike on Beirut in early January, although Israel never officially took responsibility for the attack.
