Netanyahu claims Hamas plots attack on Israel ahead of elections

Middle East conflictNetanyahu claims Hamas plots attack on Israel ahead of elections The Israeli PM said that over the past years Israel had become "the strongest country in the Middle East," while its enemies were currently "weaker than ever"TEL AVIV, October 6. /TASS/. Radicals from Palestine’s Hamas movement may try to stage another attack on Israel in the run-up to the parliamentary elections, scheduled for late October, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Addressing a government meeting on the eve of the October 7, 2023 attack, the premier said that over the past years Israel became "the strongest country in the Middle East," while its enemies are currently "weaker than ever." "Precisely because Hamas is so weak, it will try to challenge us with the remainder of its forces ahead of the elections to try to influence them," Netanyahu said. "We are prepared for this; first and foremost, we will thwart such attempts, and in any case, we will respond with overwhelming force if they make this mistake," he added. On October 7, 2023, armed members of Hamas and other Palestinian groups entered Israel from Gaza, killing residents of border communities and taking about 250 people hostage. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel imposed a total blockade on the Gaza Strip and launched air strikes on Gaza, as well as parts of Lebanon and Syria, before beginning a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave. The active phase of the operation continued intermittently for nearly two years. On October 9, 2025, Israel and Hamas, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, the United States and Turkey, agreed to implement the first phase of a peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump. The Gaza ceasefire took effect on October 10. Under the deal, Israeli forces withdrew to the so-called yellow line but retained control of more than 50% of the Strip’s territory. The second phase calls for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave, the deployment of international stabilization forces and the establishment of new administrative institutions in the Strip. Israel, however, demands that Hamas units first be disarmed, which has not yet happened. 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