The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) on Tuesday night confirmed in a statement that they had captured Hamas’s head of internal security in the Gaza Strip in the first high-level capture operation deep in Gaza in a long time.
The official statement did not make any direct mention of Gaza gangs being central to the operation, though there was a hint with a reference to Shin Bet’s “special forces.”
However, The Jerusalem Post and other media have received clear indications, along with confirmations in foreign reports, that anti-Hamas Gaza gangs were at the heart of the operation, even while supported by the IDF and the Shin Bet.
Another mystery that was solved over the course of the day was the importance of the Hamas official who has been arrested.
Earlier in the day, an Israeli official told the Post that the captured terrorist is Mu’in al-Arabid, head of Hamas’s internal security apparatus, which would have made him one of the top security officials in the Strip.
Katz, Netanyahu play up al-Arabid's importance to Hamas
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz both sought to emphasize Arabid’s importance, with the prime minister saying he played a major role in managing the hiding of the over 250 Israeli hostages after October 7, 2023.
However, a Palestinian source in Gaza told the Post that the man captured was in charge of Hamas’s internal security department in the area of Gaza City only, which would have made him more of a mid-level official.
The source added that members of an anti-Hamas group played a role in the operation and that the terror organization is trying to “downplay the incident” and “its internal security forces are actively pursuing militias supported by Israel.”
The final statement by the IDF and the Shin Bet seemed to settle on the official being more important than Hamas claimed but less important than Netanyahu and Katz contended.
While multiple Hamas chiefs of internal security and of Hamas’s entirely military have been killed, the terror group, while severely weakened, remains in control of the Palestinian population in the Strip.
“A short time ago, a senior Hamas terrorist was arrested, and this is our policy: We do not wait for threats. Instead, we pursue Hamas terrorists, thwart them, and destroy their terrorist infrastructure. We have built a strong and unprecedented security zone in Gaza to protect residents and IDF soldiers,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday afternoon.
Strangely, Katz added, “Any attempt to bypass the security zone through aerial launches will be met with a harsh response,” though Hamas has not attacked Israel from the air. The balloons Hamas sent into Israel last week had already resulted in an increase in Israeli assassinations of Hamas officials.
Netanyahu congratulated the Shin Bet and IDF for their “bold action in arresting the head of Hamas’s general security apparatus from his home,” in a statement released on Tuesday evening.
He called the terrorist “one of the most senior Hamas leaders,” adding that he was “responsible for hiding and transporting our hostages, hiding Hamas senior figures, and building the terror force, including attempting to restore the terror group’s capabilities.”
The prime minister added, “Recently, he was involved in attempts to restore Hamas’s governance in Gaza, deception on the issue of demilitarizing the strip, and assisting in carrying out terrorist acts against the IDF and Israeli civilians.”
It was unclear what strategic change could be achieved in the standoff with Hamas by means of this operation. Yet its daring, coupled with the entrance of Israeli-aligned forces deeper into a Hamas enclave, has grabbed media and public attention in the lead-up to the election more than regular airstrikes – which barely register in the press most days.
What has the IDF done in Gaza recently?
Later Tuesday night, the IDF announced yet another of its nearly daily assassination airstrikes against a Hamas official.
Following a series of heavier-than-usual airstrikes, which it appears were carried out to support the Gaza gangs, the IDF stated that there had been no Israeli casualties.
Initially, Al Hadath reported that the IDF had coordinated with Gazan militias to attempt to “kidnap a figure near the Red Cross headquarters in Gaza.”
According to Al Hadath, the strikes occurred after the operation was exposed.
IDF sources would not deny foreign reports that Israel worked alongside Gazan militias to arrest the senior Hamas official.
Ten explosions were heard in the Gaza City area as a result of the strikes, Palestinian sources reported earlier on Tuesday.
Al Jazeera reported that Israeli military aircraft were flying at low altitude over the area, while Al Hadath reported that drones continued to drop a large number of bombs in the area.
Additionally, reports claimed that IDF special forces had entered the area of the American Hospital in the al-Katiba area of western Gaza City.
Palestinian reports described exchanges of fire and shooting involving special forces in western Gaza City. There were also reports of a large number of casualties among Gazans as a result of the strikes.
Separately, there were reports of smoke shells being fired in the Shati refugee camp in western Gaza City, along the coast.
Local gangs contribute, but they are not the primary drivers in toppling Hamas.
Political leaks suggesting that Gaza’s local gangs have any chance of taking over the Strip from Hamas in the near or medium term are referred to by most defense establishment figures as being divorced from reality.
Most defense officials acknowledge that each of these groups can only survive with clear IDF protection and can only confront Hamas in small and limited operations.
Even if their numbers range between the dozens and a couple of hundred, Hamas still has thousands or more foot soldiers.
In other words, these local gangs might contribute over the long term to Hamas’s fall, but most defense officials say they will not be a central component of it.
Rather, most experts agree that either some arm of the Palestinian Authority or a hybrid of the PA, Egypt, the ISF, and some outside IDF support would be needed to overcome Hamas in the long term.
James Genn and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.