A threatening letter addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was found at his brother Yoni's grave on Mount Herzl on Friday.
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The message reads, "How's it going, Yoni the hero? How is it up there? I was asked to inform your brother that he has some rights or many rights, but they are over." It further states, "From here, Mount Herzl, this sacred place, the clock ticks backward until the date when your brother thinks he'll live to be 74."
The letter also outlined "missions" for the prime minister, including "conquering Gaza" and "returning the body of my instructor, Hadar Goldin, and the other captives."
Hadar Goldin was an Israeli soldier who was killed during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict and whose body was abducted by Hamas. Another soldier, Oron Shaul was also killed and abducted in the same incident and their remains have not been returned to Israel, and efforts to retrieve them have been ongoing.
The letter was signed with a chilling statement: "Bibi, time is running out. You have just over three and a half months left."
The letter was discovered by Mount Herzl staff, and the police and Shin Bet are involved in the investigation, but no suspects have been arrested yet.
A high-ranking Shin Bet official said that “We will not regard a targeted threat against the prime minister, placed on the grave of an Israeli hero, as something routine.” They also stated that the agency will utilize all available resources to address the incident.
Earlier this week, Netanyahu and his brother Iddo participated in a commemoration for Yoni, marking 47 years since his death while commanding the elite Israeli special forces unit, Sayeret Matkal.
Yoni, the eldest brother of the Netanyahu clan, gained international recognition for leading the successful hostage rescue mission at Entebbe Airport in Uganda in 1976, known as Operation Thunderbolt. Tragically, Yoni Netanyahu was killed during the operation, but his bravery and sacrifice have been widely celebrated in Israel and beyond.