Daijiworld Media Network - Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Oct 6: Israel has ordered its military to hunt down and kill the remaining participants in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, Defence Minister Israel Katz said, putting their number at around 2,000.
Katz said on Monday that about 6,000 attackers had crossed the border into Israel on October 7, 2023, adding that around 4,000 had already been killed. He said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered the military to pursue the remaining attackers.
"We ordered the military to pursue and kill them all, from the most senior to the most junior," Katz said.
Separately, Netanyahu, speaking on Monday at a state memorial ceremony at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, said Israel would continue pursuing those who carried out the attack and took hostages, while seeking to end Hamas' rule in Gaza.
Earlier in September, Netanyahu, addressing the United Nations General Assembly, rejected accusations that Israel was committing "genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza, describing the allegation as "the greatest lie of the century".
Netanyahu portrayed Israel as a country fighting on seven fronts against "Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iran, militias in Iraq, militias in Syria, Palestinian terrorists in Judea Samaria (West Bank)".
"They all ganged up on us to wipe us off the face of the Earth. They failed," he said.
Referring to the October 2023 Hamas-led attack from Gaza, Netanyahu said, "We didn’t collapse. Instead, we rose and fought like lions."
Netanyahu also defended Israel's military strikes against Iran, saying, "If we hadn’t done it, we’d all be dead."
The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel killed about 1,200 people and triggered Israel's large-scale military operations in Gaza. More than 74,200 people have been killed in the territory, according to Gaza's health authorities.
During its military operations in Gaza, Israel has killed much of Hamas' senior leadership, including the group's former leader Yahya Sinwar and his younger brother Mohammad Sinwar.