Egypt revealed that Israel had plans to assassinate Hamas leaders in Cairo and warned that any such attack would be met with force. Senior Egyptian officials told Middle East Eye that security reports indicated Israel had been planning to kill Hamas leaders in Cairo for some time, noting that Egypt had already thwarted a previous attempt during ceasefire negotiations over the past two years. Last Tuesday, Israeli fighter jets struck Hamas’s headquarters in Qatar, where the group’s top leadership was meeting at the time. The statements from senior Egyptian officials came in response to threats by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel would target Hamas in other countries as well. Although it has not been officially announced that Hamas leaders have been living in Egypt, the source told MEE that several have been residing in the country for years, even before the Gaza war.