Israeli media revealed new details about a wide assassination program Israel is carrying out in the Gaza Strip, targeting Palestinians it claims were involved in the events of October 7, 2023.
According to these reports, Israel’s security establishment has compiled a list of individuals it intends to pursue, stating that “none of them will be beyond reach.”
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) established a special operations room less than two weeks after October 7, 2023.
The unit, named “Nili”—an acronym drawn from a biblical phrase translated in Israeli discourse as “The Eternal One of Israel does not lie”—includes intelligence and operations personnel tasked with tracking and killing Palestinians Israel accuses of involvement in the attack on Israeli colonies around Gaza, or in the killing, capture, or holding of Israelis inside the Strip.
According to the report, Israeli forces began collecting photographs and names of Palestinians suspected of involvement in October 7 attack, in the early days of the war on Gaza, relying on intelligence information, documents seized during military invasions into Gaza, and video material and lists Israel claims were obtained from Hamas and other Palestinian factions.
The newspaper said the assassination operations intensified in recent months, particularly after Israel concluded the file of Israeli captives held in Gaza. Israeli officials told the paper that the absence of Israeli captives gave the military “greater freedom” to carry out airstrikes without concern for harming Israelis held in the Strip.
Officials cited in the report said the presence of Israeli forces inside Gaza, along with continued field‑level intelligence gathering, expanded the target list and accelerated assassination operations.
The report stated that the timing of each strike depends on what Israeli officials describe as “operational and intelligence opportunity.” Some killings are carried out immediately upon receiving urgent information, while others are planned over days or weeks, with close monitoring of the movements of the targeted individuals.
Israeli officials claimed that the military attempts to reduce civilian casualties and that some operations were postponed due to the presence of civilians near the target. However, they said strikes are carried out if the targeted person is considered an “immediate threat,” even when civilian harm is likely.
The report added that Israeli security officials believe many Palestinians accused of participating in the October 7 attack are now involved in rebuilding the military capabilities of Hamas, making them “priority targets.”
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel has assassinated twenty‑one Palestinians since early June whom it claims were on the special operations list. The newspaper said these included individuals accused of participating in the capture or holding of Israelis, as well as others Israel alleges took part in the attack on colonies around Gaza.
The list reportedly includes field commanders and fighters from the al‑Qassam Brigades and the al‑Quds Brigades, including members of “elite units” and individuals Israel accuses of storming Israeli colonies or holding captives inside Gaza.
The report concluded with statements from Israeli security officials asserting that the mission “will not end until every name on the list is reached,” and that the pursuit and assassination operations will continue “until all files related to October 7 are closed,” according to the Israeli narrative.
In related news, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported on Saturday that hospitals in the Gaza Strip received six Palestinians who were killed during the past forty‑eight hours, including four killed in new Israeli attacks and two who died from wounds sustained earlier. The Ministry added that medical facilities also treated thirty‑seven injured Palestinians during the same period.
Since the declared “ceasefire” on October 11, the Ministry has documented 1,191 Palestinians killed and 3,853 injured, in addition to 803 bodies recovered from destroyed areas.
The cumulative toll since the beginning of the Israeli genocide on October 7, 2023, has reached 73,317 Palestinians killed and 173,961 injured, according to the Ministry’s official figures.
The Ministry said that several victims remain under the rubble and in the streets, as ambulance crews and civil defense teams continue to face severe obstacles preventing them from reaching affected areas.
