Gaza terror groups have warned Israel against returning to a policy of targeted killings, saying there would be a large and coordinated response including thousands of missiles fired at Tel Aviv, a Lebanese newspaper reported on Saturday.
Sources told the pro-Hezbollah Al-Akhbar newspaper that the “Joint Operations Room” of Gaza factions notified Israel, via intermediaries, that “it would respond in a large and strong way” in the event that Israel carried out an assassination.
The report said it would be seen as a declaration of war “in which the resistance would burn Tel Aviv with thousands of missiles as well as things the occupation does not expect.”
The targeted killing of a Palestinian leader in Gaza is a rare event but both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz have hinted at a possible return to the policy, with the latter warning on Thursday that the IDF was able to hit human targets as well as buildings and terror infrastructure.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz speaks to local leaders from southern Israel, August 19, 2020 (Oded Karni/GPO)
Gantz on Friday additionally warned the terror groups in Gaza that the IDF will deliver a “very harsh blow” if violence continues.
“The IDF is ready, it defends and will continue to defend the residents of the south and will attack anyone who attacks us and deliver a very harsh blow,” Gantz said after a meeting with senior IDF officers.
IDF chief of staff Aviv Kohavi met with the heads of the Southern Command and “heard a situational assessment and authorized the command’s plans for various scenarios,” the IDF said. Gantz joined the briefing via video conference. READ MORE
