Sword of Gideon: Here's the Goal of Israel's New Anti-Hamas Death Squad

Matt Vespa | October 25, 2023 7:00 AM

It’s not the first time, nor will it be the last, that Israel has formed an assassination squad to go terrorist hunting. They’ve neutralized scores of Hamas and PLO operatives in the past. After the 1972 Olympic massacre in Munich at the hands of Black September, Mossad organized teams to eliminate those who had planned the attack in the aptly named Operation Wrath of God. It hit a snag when Mossad agents killed the wrong man in Norway, Ahmed Bouchikhi, who was mistaken for one of Black September’s top leaders, Ali Hassan Salameh, in 1973.

The goal of this new unit is to eliminate every Hamas terrorist that was involved in the brutal October 7 attacks. Like the IDF’s operation in Gaza, which is set to begin soon, this covert campaign could take years, as over 1,000 terrorists were involved (via Jerusalem Post):

In Israel's ongoing effort to track down all those involved in the brutal terrorist attack that left more than 1,400 Israelis murdered, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Service) has established a new unit named Nili, an acronym in Hebrew for "The Eternity of Israel Will Not Lie."
The unit is dedicated to hunting down and eliminating every individual who played a role in the massacre in the western Negev settlements two weeks ago.
This force was specifically set up to target members of a special commando unit within Hamas's military wing called Nukhba ("elite") who infiltrated Israel, executed mass killings in various villages and IDF outposts, and then returned to the Gaza Strip.
The members of this new organization function independently from other Command and Control units that are focused on neutralizing strike cells and high-ranking terrorists. This particular mission is distinct, with the organization encompassing both field operatives and intelligence personnel.