JERUSALEM/UNITED NATIONS – Israel has ordered its military to hunt down and kill the remaining participants in the Hamas-led Oct 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday, putting their number at 2,000.

Katz said about 6,000 attackers crossed the border into Israel on that day, adding that 4,000 of them had already been killed and that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered the military to pursue the rest.

"We ordered the military to pursue and kill them all, from the most senior to the most junior," Katz said.

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Separately, speaking on Monday at a state memorial ceremony at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said Israel will continue pursuing those who carried out the attack and held hostages, and to end Hamas' rule in Gaza.

The Hamas-led attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel. It triggered the massive Israeli military operations across Gaza that have killed more than 74,200 people, according to Gaza's health authorities.

Israel has killed much of Hamas' senior leadership during its three-year military operations in Gaza, including Yahya Sinwar and his younger brother Mohammad Sinwar.

Israeli professor charged with plotting mass attacks on Arabs

Meanwhile, Israeli prosecutors charged a university professor on Monday with planning coordinated attacks to kill "hundreds" of Arab citizens of Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank, the State Attorney's Office said.

The defendant, a man in his 60s from Petah Tikva whose identity is protected by a court-imposed gag order, is a mathematics lecturer at Bar-Ilan University outside Tel Aviv. Prosecutors said he allegedly developed the deadly plan over the past three years, motivated by nationalist ideology.

He was arrested two weeks ago.

According to the indictment, he called the plan "AIT," a Hebrew acronym for a phrase meaning "the people will carry out transfer." Prosecutors said its aim was the mass forced displacement of Arab citizens of Israel.

He was charged with preparing to commit an act of terrorism, extortion by threats and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors asked the court to keep him in custody until the proceedings conclude.

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Bar-Ilan University released a statement, condemning the acts and saying the lecturer would be suspended "immediately."

Israeli Arabs are the descendants of Palestinians who stayed put during the 1948 war, which led to the statehood of Israel.

UN chief calls for permanent Gaza ceasefire

At the United Nations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza ahead of the third anniversary of the Oct 7, 2023 attacks.

The horrors of those attacks must never be repeated, and the ensuing hostilities in Gaza must end, Guterres said in a message marking the third anniversary.

"The devastating hostilities that followed (the attacks) have inflicted untold suffering on Palestinians in Gaza, including massive loss of life, displacement, and destruction. Civilians continue to endure intolerable conditions. Their suffering, too, demands an end, now," said the UN chief.

The ceasefire reached last year has brought some relief. But it has yet to deliver security, adequate humanitarian assistance or a credible path to recovery and peace, he noted.

"I urge all parties to implement their commitments in full and advance to the next phase of the ceasefire," said Guterres. "It is time for the ceasefire to become permanent. It is time to allow humanitarian assistance at scale. And it is time to respect international law."

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He said that there is a need to build the political path to lasting peace across the whole region, adding that the United Nations remains unwavering in its commitment to these imperatives.

"Let this anniversary mark not only another year of mourning, but also a renewed determination to build a different future: one in which Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in peace and security, with their rights, dignity, and aspirations fulfilled," said Guterres.