Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen declared on Wednesday evening that his country would target Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Meshal for assassination.
Cohen stated on Israel's Channel 13: "We will eliminate Meshal and Haniyeh, they will not die a natural death."
Haniyeh is the head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, whereas Meshal heads the movement's activities abroad.
Separately, Cohen mentioned that "it is a mistake to replace the foreign minister during a war."
Israeli Channel 13 reported discussions about replacing Cohen with Energy Minister Israel Katz, with Cohen taking over the Energy portfolio in turn.
Cohen added, "The responsible person is the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has not discussed this matter with me, and if the prime minister requests it, I will do it."
Cohen claimed that he had not asked Netanyahu to retain him in his position, which he has held since the formation of the government towards the end of last year.
Since October 7, the Israeli army has waged a devastating war on Gaza that has resulted in 26,000 casualties and missing persons – mainly children and women – by Wednesday evening. This offensive has also caused massive destruction to the infrastructure and an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.
