Israeli National Security Minister and head of Jewish Power party Itamar Ben-Gvir gives a statement to members of the press, ahead of a possible ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Jan. 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Oren Ben Hakoon

Israel’s Shin Bet domestic intelligence service said on Wednesday it had thwarted a plan to assassinate National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and that members of a Hamas cell had been arrested.

The planned Hamas attack against the far-right cabinet minister would have involved use of explosive drones, the Shin Bet said.

The Shin Bet said members of a Hamas cell from the Hebron area in the West Bank had been arrested and that drones had been seized. It said it believed the cell had operated a Hamas headquarters in Turkey “with the intent of carrying out an assassination attack on Ben Gvir.”

An investigation was under way, it said.

The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, with which Israel has been at war in the Gaza Strip for nearly two years, was not immediately available for comment. Turkey did not immediately comment.

Ben Gvir said in a statement 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.

The war in Gaza began in October 2023, when Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, including children, into Gaza. Forty-eight hostages remain in Gaza.

Since then, Israel has waged a military campaign to free the hostages and destroy Hamas in Gaza.