Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday reiterated Jerusalem’s commitment to destroying Hamas, a process he said would take years.
“The pursuit of Hamas terrorists will continue for years to come—from the most senior ones to the terrorists in the field. We must remember at any given time—and you were here on Oct. 7—we need to remember what Hamas did to us,” said Gallant.
“We must eliminate any terrorist who murdered children, raped women and kidnapped the elderly. We must also deter anyone who may attempt to conduct such heinous acts in the future,” he added.
Gallant noted that the Israel Defense Forces was “eroding” Hamas’s capabilities. The terrorists in Gaza are “paying huge prices and their ability to rebuild is very limited,” he said.
The comments came as the military confirmed on Sunday that Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, was killed the previous day in a targeted airstrike on terrorist infrastructure in southern Gaza.
“Salameh was one of the close associates of Mohammed Deif, the head of the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organization, one of the planners and executors of the Oct. 7 massacre,” according to the IDF.
The army noted that Salameh joined Hamas in the 1990s and played a central part in the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in June 2006. He also played a significant role in Hamas’s tunnel project and was responsible for rockets fired into the Jewish state from Khan Younis.
Salameh’s death “constitutes significant damage to the military capabilities of the Hamas terrorist organization,” added the IDF.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday night that it could not yet be confirmed whether Deif also died in the strike.
“I would like to assure you that one way or another, we will reach the entire Hamas leadership,” said the prime minister.
