Israel lays the groundwork for a global assassination campaign targeting Hamas leaders

Israel is planning a years-long assassination campaign against Hamas terror leaders linked to the Oct. 7 attacks, when Hamas militants brutally murdered 1,200 Israelis and took an estimated 240 hostage, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Mossad and other intelligence agencies to hunt down and kill Hamas leaders in Lebanon, Turkey and Qatar in the coming years, once the current war in Gaza ends, WSJ . reported, citing Israeli officials. In the past, Israel has avoided attacking members of the Palestine-based group in other countries to avoid diplomatic crises.

“I have instructed the Mossad to act against the leaders of Hamas wherever they are,” Netanyahu said in a televised speech on Nov. 22, according to the WSJ.

Qatar has allowed Hamas, a terrorist organization designated by the United States, to run a political office from the capital Doha for years, according to the WSJ. Qatar, Lebanon, Iran, Russia and Turkey have at times hosted Hamas terrorists.

And Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the leaders are living on “borrowed time,” the WSJ reported. “They are marked for death. The fight is global, both the terrorists in Gaza and those who fly in expensive planes.”

According to the WSJ, Israel is already conducting operations to kill Hamas terrorist leaders living in Gaza as the war continues. Plans on how to attack leaders elsewhere in the world began shortly after the October 7 attacks, with Israel's stated intention to prevent a repeat of Hamas.

However, some Israeli officials want to keep the plan secret, according to the WSJ. They also debated whether to begin the killings immediately, but refrained from eliminating Hamas militants in Qatar for fear that Close a door for the emirate to mediate hostage releases with Hamas

David Barnea, head of the Mossad known with CIA Director William Burns in Doha on Tuesday to discuss a ceasefire extension and the release of additional hostages.

Some killings may sometimes violate international law, though that hasn't stopped many countries from carrying out targeted killings and resisting the international consternation that follows, according to the WSJ.

Israel's intelligence forces have a storied history of covert operations to eliminate human targets for decades.

Netanyahu oversaw a failed assassination attempt against Hamas none Khaled Meshaal in Jordan which resulted in the release of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the group's spiritual leader.

An Israeli government spokesman did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation. The Mossad could not be reached for comment.

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