Defense Minister Israel Katz delivered a statement to the media at the site of the direct hit in Holon, and threatened for the first time the elimination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. "A dictator like Khamenei, who leads Iran and has made the destruction of Israel his banner – he cannot continue to exist." In his remarks, Katz called Khamenei "the modern Hitler" and added that "preventing his existence is one of the operation's objectives."