Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Defence Minister On Iran's Rumoured 'Hit List'

If the list is genuine, it would appear Iran targeting Netanyahu is a direct response to reports Israel is looking to execute Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

03 Oct 2024, 08:22 · www.ndtv.com

New Delhi:

Iran has an 'execution list' of 'Israeli terrorists' - including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as the commanders of the Israel's Army, Navy, and Air Force - according to a poster circulated on X, one version of which was shared by @Revenge_is_near.

Neither government has yet responded to this poster so far, although whispers from within Iranian military intelligence suggest senior Israeli leaders, if not Netanyahu himself, may be targeted.

Other high-ranking military leaders on the list are Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi and his deputy, Amir Baram, and the heads of the Northern, Southern, and Central Command - Major Generals Ori Gordin, Yehuda Fox, and Eliezer Toledani. Military intelligence chief Aharon Haliva is also named.

If the list is genuine, it would appear that Iran targeting Benjamin Netanyahu is a direct response to reports that Israel is looking to press its advantage - after crippling the leadership structure of Iran-backed Hezbollah - by executing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that country's Supreme Leader.

And, if genuine, it mirrors a (pre-attack) list released by Israel last month that said it had eliminated top commanders of the Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, The Times of Israel reported. Israeli forces named 11 Hezbollah commanders killed and shared a poster on Instagram of the broken command structure.

Image shared on Instagram by @stateofisrael

In the aftermath of the attack Tuesday Netanyahu told Iran it had made "a big mistake".

Targeting Defence Minister Gallant would also be a significant move. In October last year - ordering a complete blockade on the Gaza Strip that left millions of civilians starving, before Israeli fighter jets' merciless bombing - Gallant infamously described Palestinians as "animals".

And eliminating the raft of senior Israeli military leaders will be seen as payback for Tel Aviv killing at least eight top Hezbollah leaders, as well as those from Palestinian terror group Hamas and other associated Islamic groups.

Tension between Tel Aviv and Tehran escalated sharply - as have fears of an all-out war in West Asia - after Tuesday's large-scale missile offensive, the second against Israel in seven months.

EXPLAINED | How Israel Might React To Iranian Missile Attack?

The first - in which around 200 ballistic missile and explosive drones were fired at Israel in April - was in retaliation for an airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus in Syria.

Tuesday's missile strike, Iran has said, was its response to Israel's killing Friday of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Nasrallah, 64, was killed in airstrikes targeting dozens of sites - that Tel Aviv claims were linked to the Hezbollah - in eastern and southern Lebanon.

READ | Hezbollah Chief Killed In Israel Strike: "Will No Longer Terrorise"

Israel also claims last week's strikes dealt heavy blows to Hezbollah's command structure.

Two days later - on Monday - Hamas said an Israeli strike had also killed one of its senior commanders in Lebanon - Fatah Sharif and his family died in airstrikes in the southern port city of Tyre. Yet another - on a residential building in central Beirut - killed a member of an Islamic group allied with Hezbollah.

Over the past 10 days Israel has reportedly targeted and executed at least eight senior Hezbollah leaders, including founding members. The group on Sunday said Nabil Kaouk, the deputy chief of its Central County and a veteran of the 2006 war with Israel, had also died in an airstrike.

Later that day Hezbollah said Ali Karaki, another senior commander, had also died.

These strikes have been seen by many as signs Israel is following ex Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's 'Octopus Doctrine', which calls for a direct fight with Iran instead of dealing with Hezbollah or Hamas.

Israel, after the terror attack by Hamas in October last year, had vowed to wipe out the Palestinian group, and similar declarations have been made by Tel Aviv as it opens this second front.

READ | Iran Guards Threaten "Crushing Attacks" If Israel Responds To Missiles

Iran's missile strikes have left diplomats in the region and in the West scrambling to avoid a full-blown war, and Tehran has warned of "crushing attacks" if Israel retaliates, which it has said it will do.

Guy Nir, spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in India, told NDTV Tehran would get an appropriate response. "If he (the Ayatollah) plans to initiate a full-scale war with Israel, it will be a mistake for them. Israel's response is going to be strategic and pin-pointed... not a full-scale war."

EXCLUSIVE | Will Iran's Attack Lead To Full-Scale War? Israel Spokesperson Says...

Any hope the US will step in to broker peace may not come to pass, with Washington saying it will work with Israel to make sure Iran faces "severe consequences" for its military action.

On Wednesday, meanwhile, Israel bombed Lebanon again, this time targeting southern suburbs of capital Beirut, which are seen as more Hezbollah strongholds.

Nearly 1,900 people have been killed and more than 9,000 wounded in Lebanon - most in the past two weeks - in almost a year of cross-border fighting, according to the Lebanese government, while Palestine health authorities said Israel's strikes have killed over 41,000, including women and children.

With input from agencies

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