The report by Le Figaro comes days after the Israeli prime minister vowed to pursue the terror group’s leaders ‘wherever they are.’
By World Israel News Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has assured Qatar that Israel would refrain from targeting Hamas terror leaders residing in the Gulf state as part of the broader hostage deal which has so far seen the release of 26 Israeli hostages, the French Le Figaro newspaper reported.
French journalist Georges Malbrunot said that as part of the agreement, the Mossad would not conduct targeted assassinations of senior Hamas members on Qatari soil.
“Doha presented its precondition to Israel a few weeks ago, before assuming its role as a mediator in the hostage issue,” Malbrunot wrote in the Le Figaro published on Saturday.
Days earlier, however, Netanyahu publicly stated that he had directed the Mossad to target senior Hamas officials “wherever they are.”
“I instructed the Mossad to act against Hamas leaders wherever they are,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
He even went on to say that “there is no obligation in the agreement to not act in a truce against the leaders of Hamas.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also warned that all Hamas leaders dead men walking.
“They are living on borrowed time,” Gallant said . “The struggle is worldwide: From gunmen in the field to those who are enjoying luxury jets while their emissaries are acting against women and children — they are destined to die.”
Netanyahu denied the existence of an immunity clause for Hamas leaders in the ceasefire agreement.
Meanwhile, the Al-Akhbar newspaper reported that Israel had agreed to withdraw its forces from Salah al-Din Road as part of the deal, a clause that was not highlighted by Israeli officials. The road is a crucial link between the northern and southern parts of Gaza and serves as the main route for thousands of displaced people from the north. Under the agreement, Israel will reportedly not impede civilian movement on this road, even if civilians are traveling north. The other consequence is that for five days, Hamas terrorists will have the opportunity to move freely between the two areas of the Gaza Strip.
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