TEL AVIV, November 15. /TASS/. Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said that his country will hunt down Hamas leaders "in the Gaza Strip and around the world."

"There will be no sanctuary cities, no sanctuary houses. We will go wherever we need to in order to eradicate child murderers - above and below ground. In Gaza and around the world," the Times of Israel quoted Gantz as saying.

"We will reach the heads of government (the Hamas leadership - TASS) just as we reached the centers of government [in Gaza]," the minister pointed out.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 200 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also underway in the West Bank.