Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has issued a direct threat to assassinate Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, following Meshaal’s recent statements from Istanbul.
Katz’s threat came after an audio recording by Meshaal in which he threatened to resume bombing operations against Israel, which sparked strong reactions from the Israeli side.
In his statement, Katz stressed that “Israel will ensure that the death wish of Khaled Meshaal and his comrades in leadership is fulfilled as soon as possible,” adding that this time it will be different and will be done “without a few adjustments.”
This escalation comes after Meshaal, during a speech he gave on Wednesday at a press conference organized by the International Jerusalem Foundation in Istanbul, praised the martyrdom operations that have begun to appear again in the West Bank, and called for escalating the conflict with Israel and engaging in resistance on all fronts.
The head of the movement abroad called for the resumption of university activism and student demonstrations against American and international support for Israel, and urged young people in the Islamic world to return to university campuses and launch a new wave of protests and demonstrations to demand an end to the Israeli war on Gaza and to denounce the support provided by the United States and Western countries to Israel.
He said in his speech, “With the return of the school year and the approach of the first anniversary of Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa, we must prepare for a new uprising that will revive this movement and send a clear message to Washington and the world to stop the aggression on Gaza.”
Meshaal also stressed the importance of not leaving Gaza alone in the face of the Israeli aggression, calling on the Arab and Islamic peoples to return to the streets and show anger in support of Gaza.
Meshaal’s call came at a time when the West Bank is witnessing intensive military operations by the Israeli army. Nine Palestinians were killed and others were wounded in an operation in the northern West Bank, the largest since 2002. This operation coincided with the ongoing war on Gaza, which left behind massive destruction and heavy human losses exceeding 134,000 martyrs and wounded, most of whom were children and women.