Hamas is planning to undertake terrorist attacks on Israelis who live or travel overseas, according to a Thursday report by Israel’s Channel 12 News.
Palestinian sources told the television station that the decision was made two days after their group’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in a July explosion purportedly done under Jerusalem’s orders.
In addition to the desire to avenge Haniyeh’s death, high casualties and battlefield degradation from ten months of fighting the IDF in Gaza also contributed to the change in tactics.
The revelation comes as Hamas officials took responsibility for an attempted suicide bombing on Sunday that killed the alleged culprit and injured a pedestrian in Tel Aviv.
Israel’s security services have previously warned its citizens to exercise caution when traveling, citing threats disseminated by Hamas after the October 7 massacre that instructed its international supporters to participate in a “day of rage” against Israeli and Jewish targets.
Similar advisories have been issued regarding possible incursions initiated by Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic.
Although the Gaza-based Islamist organization has never successfully discharged a terror incident outside of the region, several of their associates were arrested late last year in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands for allegedly conspiring to attack Jewish institutions in Europe.
Related Story: ‘As Serious as It Gets’: Hamas Members Arrested Before Carrying Out Suspected Terror Attack in Europe
