Hamas creates a task force immediately after the attack on Israel
Tracking the locations of top leaders such as Sinwar and Deif.
No major results have yet been achieved with the arrest and killing of top leaders.
The New York Times reported on the 12th (local time) that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is collecting location information on senior Hamas leaders and hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and handing it over to Israel.
Immediately after the Hamas attack, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan sent a memo to U.S. intelligence agencies and the Department of Defense directing them to form a task force and expand intelligence collection on Hamas leadership.
It is unclear to what extent the information collected by the task force helps Israel. The United States did not provide Israel with information about mid-level and low-level Hamas members. To date, no top Hamas leader has been arrested or killed.
Israel estimated the number of Hamas troops at around 20,000 to 25,000 before October 7 last year, and at the end of last year, Israel told the United States that it believed it had killed about a third of Hamas troops.
If we succeed in eliminating Hamas Supreme Leader Yahya Sinwar, who led the October 7 attack, or Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif, it will strengthen Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to continue the war in Gaza.
Sinwar is believed to be hiding deep in the Khan Yunis underground tunnel in southern Gaza Strip, using hostages as human shields.
Meanwhile, a U.S. official said that the information about Saleh al-Arouri, the second leader of Hamas, who was killed by Israel in an attack on the Lebanese capital Beirut on the 2nd, was not provided by the United States and was obtained by Israel itself.
The United States has increased drone flights over the Gaza Strip and intercepted communications by Hamas officials.
Before October 7, Hamas’ intelligence collection level was ranked 4th, so little dedicated intelligence resources were allocated, but later the Directorate of National Intelligence (DNI) raised Hamas’s level to 2nd. Tier 1 are targets that can pose a direct threat to the United States, such as China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
Accordingly, more manpower and funds have been allocated to Hamas intelligence gathering, but with access to and regular communications in the Gaza Strip extremely limited, it takes time to develop new sources of information.
Before October 7, the United States relied on Israel to gather intelligence on Hamas. However, Israel’s weakness in intelligence collection was revealed as it failed to prevent Hamas attacks. The United States also suspects that Israel has not provided the United States with sufficient information.
In 2022, Israel learned that Hamas had planned a large-scale attack on Israel called the “Jericho Wall,” but did not share it with the United States because Israeli intelligence officials judged that Hamas did not have the ability to attack.
The new task force will also be responsible for gathering information on the location and condition of the hostages. U.S. special operations forces that were training in Israel before October 7 remain in Israel and are responsible for hostage-related issues. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Justice have also strengthened their investigations into Americans sending funds to Hamas.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.