“Israel's leaders killed three birds with one stone,” wrote Reuven Pedatzur, a senior military affairs analyst for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. “They assassinated the man who had the power to make a deal with Israel; they took revenge on someone who had caused more than a few Israeli casualties; and they signaled to Hamas that communications with it will be conducted only through military force.”
No, that’s very unlikely to be true. Israel’s whole stated goal here is to Get the Hostages BackTM. They wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that goal, they’d look like some sort of fascist regime doing a genocide or something.