Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed his intention to lead the country to “total victory” in the war against the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.

“We are on the way to total victory. On the way to this victory, we already eliminated number four in Hamas. Three, two and one are on the way,” he said in a video message on Monday. “They are all dead men, we will reach them all,” he added.

Number four in the Hamas hierarchy is likely top Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri, who was killed in an airstrike in the Lebanese capital Beirut in early January.

The targeted killing was attributed to Israel at the time, which has not yet commented on it. With Netanyahu’s video message, Israel is likely to have admitted responsibility for the attack for the first time.

Al-Arouri was responsible within Hamas for maintaining close relations with the pro-Iranian Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon. He was therefore also of central importance for the procurement of weapons for the Islamists in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu’s comments came a few hours after Israeli media reported on the possible killing of the third most senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, Marwan Issa.

According to the report, the Israeli Air Force bombed a building in the Nuseirat refugee camp on Saturday night, where Issa was said to have been staying at the time. The Israeli forces are still investigating whether the top Hamas leader was actually among the victims of the airstrike.

Netanyahu was using the numbers one and two to designate the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yehya al-Sinwar, and the head of the al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif.