Netanyahu threatens more assassinations in Gaza as president warns of internal divisions in Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday threatened further assassinations in the Gaza Strip, while President Isaac Herzog warned of deepening internal divisions ahead of the country’s upcoming election.

“We still have tasks ahead of us, and we are determined to complete them,” Netanyahu said during a ceremony at Mount Herzl cemetery in west Jerusalem, as three years have passed since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

He vowed that Hamas would not be allowed to govern Gaza.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war, the Israeli army has assassinated hundreds of Hamas leaders inside and outside the occupied Palestinian territories in operations that have also killed civilians.

Since October 2023, Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and injured over 175,000 others, according to Palestinian figures, also destroying about 90% of the enclave’s infrastructure.

Netanyahu has headed the current government since late 2022, which has been described as the most right-wing in Israel’s history. He is also standing trial domestically on corruption charges that could carry prison sentences if convicted and has been wanted by the International Court of Justice since 2024 for war crimes in Gaza.

Herzog, for his part, warned of growing divisions within Israeli society ahead of the Oct. 27 legislative election.

“We must also confront what is happening to us inside our own home,” he said.

“In these days, in the midst of the election campaign, we must look at and heed the flashing warning lights — those pointing to dangerous disputes and deep division,” Herzog added.

The election will be Israel’s first general vote since the Gaza war.

Opposition parties have intensified coordination in an effort to replace Netanyahu’s government through the ballot box.