Netanyahu warns Hamas against trying to influence elections, claims 4,000 killed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the Israeli government's meeting on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, with a warning that Hamas could try to use its remaining forces to sway the country's coming elections, according to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office. He said Israel would first try to prevent any such attempt and would answer with "overwhelming force" if Hamas went ahead.

The remarks, delivered the day before the anniversary of the October 7 attack, also included a claim that Israel has killed 4,000 of what he described as 6,000 attackers over the past three years, and an assertion that 90 percent of residents of the area bordering Gaza have moved back. A second government release, which presents the text as an English rendering of the original Hebrew, carries the same remarks.

What the prime minister said

Netanyahu began by marking the eve of the anniversary, honouring soldiers who died in what the government calls the War of Redemption and civilians killed in the attack on communities near the Gaza Strip. He referred to women, men, children and babies who were killed in that attack, which Israel attributes to Hamas.

He then said that of 6,000 people he described as responsible, 4,000 had been eliminated over three years. He said none of the remainder had immunity and that Hamas rule in Gaza would be eradicated.

Netanyahu described two developments over the period. The first, in his account, is that Israel had "turned the tables" and was now the strongest state in the Middle East while its enemies were weaker than at any point. The second is the recovery of the Tekuma region, where he said 90 percent of residents had returned and had been joined by newcomers, with construction and rebuilding under way in towns and rural communities and young couples settling there. He said the same process was taking place in Israel's north.

He closed by addressing Israel's adversaries, telling them to look at what Israel had done to them on seven fronts and adding: "Do not mess with us."

Key terms for readers outside Israel

The government meeting is the regular session of Israel's cabinet ministers. Prime ministers customarily open it with public remarks before the session continues behind closed doors, and those remarks are published by the Prime Minister's Office. The second release identifies the current cabinet as the 37th Government.

The War of Redemption is the name the government uses in these statements for the war that followed the October 7 attack. The "seven fronts" Netanyahu mentioned are not listed in the releases.

Tekuma is a Hebrew word meaning revival or resurgence. In official usage, the Tekuma region refers to the communities near the Gaza border in the Western Negev, the southern part of Israel that was hit in the October 7 attack and from which many residents were evacuated.

Kibbutzim and moshavim, both named in the remarks, are types of Israeli rural community. A kibbutz is traditionally a collective settlement; a moshav is a cooperative village of individually run farms. Many of the communities attacked on October 7 were kibbutzim.

The election warning

The line the Prime Minister's Office chose to headline both releases concerned the vote. Netanyahu argued that Hamas would try to provoke Israel precisely because it is weak, using what is left of its forces in an effort to affect the outcome of the elections. He said Israel was prepared, that prevention would come first, and that any attack would be met with a forceful response.

The releases do not describe any specific threat, intelligence assessment or incident behind the warning.

How the two releases differ

Both documents come from the Israeli government and contain essentially the same text. The first is labelled a news item, states that the meeting took place on a Tuesday and indicates that the remarks were originally given in Hebrew; its published text breaks off before the final sentences. The second, labelled a media statement, carries the full remarks, including the closing message to Israel's enemies, and links to video of the address credited to the Government Press Office.

What the reports do not say

Both reports are official statements from the prime minister's own government, and no independent organisation's account was available. The figures in the remarks, the 4,000 killed out of 6,000 and the 90 percent return rate, are not sourced and could not be checked against other material. The releases do not say how the 6,000 figure was reached or who is counted in it.

The statements also do not give a date for the elections Netanyahu referred to, do not explain what he meant by the recovery in the north beyond saying it mirrors the south, and do not report what else the government discussed at the meeting or any response from other parties.