Hamas assassination plot on miner Ben Gvir busted, says Israel’s Shin Bet | World News

Israeli security forces on Wednesday said that they had thwarted an assassination attempt on National Security Miner Itamar Ben Gvir. According to Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence service, members of a Hamas cell had been arrested in connection with the plot.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO
The alleged Hamas plot involved the use of explosive drones, the Shin Bet said, adding that members of a Hamas cell from the Hebron area in the Israeli-occupied West Bank had been arrested.
The Hamas plot involved the use of explosive drones. (Photo: Shin Bet)
According to Shin Bet, the cell behind the failed assassination attempt operated a Hamas headquarters in Turkey “with the intent of carrying out an assassination attack on Ben Gvir.”
An investigation was underway, it said.
Story continues below this ad

Ben Gvir’s response
Ben Gvir said in a statement that he would not be deterred or afraid.
“Hamas has already tried five times to assassinate me, and each time they failed,” he said, thanking God and Israel’s security forces.
Who is Ben Gvir
49-year-old Ben Gvir has been the Miner of National Security in the Benjamin Netanyahu government since 2022. A member of the far-right Jewish Power party (Otzma Yehudit), Ben Gvir has a long hory of making controversial and provocative comments.
Ben-Gvir has been convicted eight times for offenses that include racism and supporting a terror organization.Story continues below this ad
A staunch opponent of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, Ben-Gvir had even temporarily resigned from Netanyahu’s cabinet earlier this year to mark his protest.
Ben Gvir rejoined the cabinet when Israel ended the ceasefire and returned to active combat in Gaza in March 2025.
Ben Gvir’s prayer at Temple Mount
Last month, Ben Gvir caused international condemnation after he led prayers at the contested Jerusalem hilltop compound, the most sensitive holy site in Israel.

Israel’s far-right National Security Miner Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Sunday and said he prayed there, challenging rules covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East https://t.co/GLglZPPjhD pic.twitter.com/yutHVVdtGA
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 5, 2025
While Jews revere it as  the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, where the biblical temples once stood, today, it is home to the Al Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam. Tensions at the compound have frequently spilled over into violence over the years.