292: Chapter 292 The Moment of Decapitation

"Execute simultaneously," Zhang Cheng ordered. "Set the time for 22:00 sharp, Tel Aviv time tonight. Operation codename: 'Eradication.' Tell Sinwar that once the operation is complete, he must immediately announce responsibility through all channels and reiterate our four conditions. At the same time, order the frontline troops in Gaza to enter Level 1 combat readiness to guard against any potential frantic retaliation from the enemy, but be prepared to push forward and expand the control zone the moment their command system collapses."

"Yes!"

The order turned into encrypted radio waves, instantly transmitting to Gaza thousands of miles away and to the shadows lurking in the heart of the enemy.

Tel Aviv, Prime Minister's office.

Prime Minister Netani had just finished listening to a phone report from Elizer in Cairo, which was full of complaints and incitement.

"That barbarian dares to threaten us! Who does he think he is?" Netani hung up the phone and sneered at the few trusted advisors in the office. "The breakdown of negotiations is perfect. The international community will see that it is they who refuse peace. We can now strengthen our military pressure with justification. Elizer did well; stalling them for five days gave us enough time to complete a new round of mobilization and resupply."

"But, Prime Minister, the shadow of the 'Liquidation' operation is still lingering, and the public is very panicked..." an advisor cautiously reminded him.

"Panic? Use victory to disperse the panic!" Netani waved his hand. "Order the military to launch a 'limited but fierce' precision strike tomorrow morning at dawn against the area in central Gaza suspected to be Sinwar's command post. Use bunker-busters. Even if we can't kill him, we must force him to hide even deeper underground! At the same time, have the Propaganda Department prepare a draft stating that we have thwarted a major plot by the Resistance Organization and killed one of its key leaders."

His face revealed his usual, calculating expression: "War is not just about the battlefield; it is even more about public opinion and psychology. We must seize the initiative."

He was completely unaware that behind a dark window in the building opposite his office, a silhouette that had almost blended into the night was calmly watching his pacing figure through a scope with low-light enhancement capabilities. The crosshairs of the scope were steadily locked onto his temple.

Time ticked second by second toward 22:00.

Tel Aviv time, 21:58.

Ministry of Defense official residence (where Lavitz is under house arrest), study.

Lavitz was not asleep. He was wearing pajamas, pacing irritably around his study. On a huge map of the Middle East on the wall, the Gaza Strip had been viciously crossed out with a red pen, and a question mark had been drawn over it. The humiliation of being suspended, the unfavorable war situation, and the pressure from both home and abroad were gnawing at his heart like vipers.

"A bunch of cowards! Compromisers!" He growled at the air. "If we had followed my plan and utilized all our strength, we would have flattened that place long ago! And now? Negotiations? Negotiating with those rats? It's simply a disgrace!"

He walked to the liquor cabinet, poured a glass of whiskey, and downed it in one gulp. The alcohol made his cheeks flush and his eyes even more paranoid. "I won't let it end like this... I still have influence, I still have my people in the military... Once the storm passes, once international attention shifts... Gaza must be cleansed, thoroughly cleansed!"

He did not know that in the shadows outside the heavy oak door of his study, a Shadow Dancer soldier was standing silently. The electromagnetic pulse device in the soldier's hand was already aimed at the door lock and the indoor surveillance cameras. In the soldier's earpiece, the ticking of the countdown could be heard.

Jerusalem, the modern apartment of Acting Minister of Defense Elizer.

Elizer had just finished showering, wearing a bathrobe, sitting on the living room sofa, comfortably sipping red wine while watching the news on TV about the breakdown of the Cairo negotiations and the accusations against Sinwar for "destroying peace." He was very satisfied with his performance; he had shown "flexibility" while firmly holding the bottom line. He seemed to see that one day in the future, because he had "successfully handled the Gaza crisis," he would officially become the Minister of Defense, or perhaps even climb to an even higher position.

The lock core of the balcony's floor-to-ceiling window was silently picked by a carbon fiber probe as thin as a hair. A shadow like a gentle breeze slid into the room, leaving no trace on the carpet. The shadow paused in the shadows at the entrance to the living room, holding a suppressed submachine gun with a high-efficiency silencer, the muzzle steadily pointing at the unsuspecting figure on the sofa.

Haifa, a heavily guarded officer residential area, the Chief of General Staff's villa.

The Chief of General Staff was in an underground safe house holding an encrypted video conference with several senior generals, discussing the details of the "limited but fierce" strike.

"... The bunker-busters must be the latest model to ensure they can penetrate any fortifications they may have reinforced. After the strike, immediately cover the area with a drone swarm to prevent any remaining enemies from escaping..."

Outside the villa, patrolling guards walked by with military dogs. They did not know that right above them at the entrance to the roof ventilation duct, a Shadow Dancer soldier had just attached a magnetic device for a miniature thermobaric bomb to the outside of the main ventilation duct leading to the underground safe house. The yield of the bomb had been precisely calculated to turn the safe house into a high-pressure oven in an instant, without causing a large-scale collapse that would alert the outside world.

Tel Aviv, Mossad Director's secret safe house.

The new director was listening to a report on the progress of tracking the attackers of the "Liquidation" operation, but the results were discouraging. He irritably loosened his tie: "Keep investigating! Mobilize all resources! I don't believe they can leave absolutely no traces! Also, strengthen the security upgrade plan for all high-level officials, especially for the Prime Minister and myself; I want it on my desk by tomorrow!"

The wall behind him looked smooth and seamless. But inside the wall, a pre-embedded miniature linear shaped-charge cutting cord had been remotely activated and preheated, aimed at the back of the chair where he was sitting.

Time: 22:00:00.

"Operation Eradication, execute."

The order was instantly synchronized via a top-secret data link to the tactical visors of all 24 Shadow Dancer soldiers.

Almost in the same millisecond—

Tel Aviv Prime Minister's office: The sniper in the building opposite pulled the trigger. A muffled sound, suppressed to an extremely low level by the silencer, rang out. A specially made high-precision sniper bullet penetrated the double-layered bulletproof glass, and the moment Prime Minister Netani picked up his teacup, it entered through his right temple and exploded into a bloom of blood on the left. The calculating expression on his face froze forever, and his body collapsed to the floor. The office's security alarm began to wail 0.5 seconds later, but the assassin's figure had already disappeared from the window, sliding down a pre-set fast-rope into a waiting, unplated van below, which then blended into the night traffic.

Lavitz's residence study: A soft sound of an electromagnetic pulse, and the door lock and surveillance failed. A Shadow Dancer soldier pushed the door open and entered. Lavitz turned his head in shock at the sound, only to see a blurry gray silhouette and a faint muzzle flash. The bullet entered through his open mouth and exited through the back of his neck. The soldier stepped forward, confirmed the death, placed a badge identical to the one from the "Liquidation" operation next to his wine glass, and immediately withdrew, climbing over the wall in the backyard and disappearing. The entire process took less than 15 seconds.

Elizer's apartment: A short three-round burst from a suppressed submachine gun. Elizer didn't even have time to put down his red wine glass before a blood hole exploded in his chest, and he collapsed onto the sofa. The wine glass rolled away, and the red wine soaked into the expensive carpet. The assassin stepped forward to deliver a final shot to confirm the kill, left the badge, and withdrew along the same path from the balcony.