‘Israel’ choose not to kill Hamas leadership pre-Oct. 7: Hebrew media

• Senior ‘Israeli’ military officers revealed missed opportunities to assassinate Hamas leaders Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar in 2022 and 2023, due to a policy prioritizing calm in Gaza over escalation.
• Proposals for targeted assassinations were shelved due to a government directive to keep Hamas "weakened but intact" and maintain focus on Northern threats from Iran and Hezbollah.

Testimonies from senior ‘Israeli’ military officers cited by Hebrew media revealed missed chances to assassinate Hamas' top commanders, Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar, before the events of October 7, 2023.

The revelations, detailed in an inquiry led by retired Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman, underscore a long-standing policy of restraint that prioritized calm in the Gaza Strip over escalation against Hamas’ leadership.

According to accounts provided to the Turgeman Committee, the ‘Israeli’ military Southern Command proposed targeted operations against Deif, head of Hamas' military wing, and Sinwar, the Gaza-based political chief, on at least two occasions in 2022 and 2023.

The first, in May 2022, followed a deadly attack in Elad that claimed four ‘Israeli’ lives and Sinwar's "ax speech" - where he urged Palestinians to use any available means to carry out attacks against ‘Israel’.

A four-phase plan, crafted under then-Commanding Officer Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano, called for surprise assassinations of Deif, Sinwar, and two to three brigade commanders, followed by airstrikes on buildup sites, destruction of key positions, and a limited ground incursion by three military divisions to neutralize rocket threats by Hamas, according to the report by YNET.

A second window emerged between Passover and “Israel's Independence Day” in 2023, amid Hamas rocket fire in response to ‘Israeli’ actions and intelligence hints of the group's "Jericho Wall" attack blueprint - later realized on October 7.

Despite Shin Bet backing and operational feasibility, both initiatives were shelved.

Testimonies describe a government directive to maintain Hamas "weakened but intact," granting it "practical immunity" during quiet periods to avoid escalation and preserve focus on northern threats from Iran and Hezbollah.

One officer recounted pressure to keep Gaza "quiet at almost any cost," while then-Chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi insisted strikes occur only during tensions for political cover.

The policy, spanning multiple Netanyahu-led governments, echoed earlier approvals like the 2019 killing of Islamic Jihad's Baha Abu al-Ata, which was only approved by Netanyahu “only after feeling humiliated when a rocket was fired at Ashdod during one of his speeches,” according to YNET.

By mid-2023, priorities shifted to preparedness, conserving Iron Dome interceptors, and preparing for a possible confrontation with Iran and Hezbollah.

‘Israel’ later succeeded in killing both: Deif in a July 2024 Khan Younis airstrike and Sinwar in an October 2024 Rafah clash.

Subsequent strikes felled Sinwar's brother, Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas' de facto military head, in a May 2025 assault near Khan Younis' European Hospital.