Palestinian resistance in Gaza on 'high alert' due to threat of Israeli assassinations

Various factions of the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip are on a "high state of alert", in anticipation of Israel's implementation of its threats to assassinate several military commanders in the besieged coastal enclave.

Speaking to The New Arab, under the condition of not mentioning their names, official sources in Hamas said that "the leadership in the resistance takes the threats of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seriously and expects the worst from him in the coming days."

"Israel may create an escalation with Gaza to escape from its internal crises and launch a new war," a source remarked.

In return, according to the sources, the factions' military wings have taken "a decision to respond immediately to any Israeli foolishness in the Gaza Strip."

“The response will be coordinated internally between the factions, and between them and the axis of resistance," the sources stressed. "Some parties in [Israel] mistakenly believe that if an assassination is carried out, the resistance will not respond with a major confrontation."

On Saturday, Israeli outlets reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at the possibility of resuming Israel's policy of launching assassination attempts in Gaza if the security situation deteriorates.

The threats came days after of Israel accused the deputy head of Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri, who resides abroad, of being behind operations targeting Israelis in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

As a result, the Islamic Hamas movement on Sunday warned Israel to not resume its policy of launching assassination attempts on senior members residing in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Israel has a long history of targeted assassinations dating back to the 1950s, when Egyptian army general Mustafa Hafez was killed by a bomb concealed in a book.

Research by Ronen Bergman, an Israeli investigative journalist, reveals Israel is estimated to have carried out more than 2,700 assassination operations since the state's founding in 1948.