Illustrative image. (Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out heavy strikes in Gaza City on the morning of September 1, reportedly in support of a Palestinian mercenary group attempting to abduct a Hamas security officer.
Defense Minister Israel Katz later announced that a “senior Hamas member” had been captured, without elaborating on who carried out the raid or providing further details on the target.
Speaking in a video from the Gaza-border settlement of Netiv Ha’asara, Katz said “even as we stand here, the activity of our forces in Gaza City continues at all times.”
“A short while ago, a senior Hamas terrorist was arrested. This is our policy: we do not wait for threats, we pursue Hamas terrorists, thwart them, and destroy their terror infrastructure,” the minister said.
Earlier, the IDF confirmed carrying out strikes against “a number of targets” in Gaza, saying it was to “remove threats to security forces” — without specifying whether they were Israeli forces. It noted, however, that no Israeli troops were wounded.
An Israeli security source cited by The Times of Israel said the captured Hamas commander was the chief of Hamas’s internal security apparatus.
Al-Majd al-Amni, a website affiliated with Hamas, reported that “an Israeli special force attempted to carry out a security operation aimed at targeting a figure from the ‘resistance’ [a term used for terror groups in Gaza], but [Hamas’s] security forces thwarted the mission.”
“The failure is an embarrassment for the occupation army,” the report added.
Al-Quds al-Ikhbariya, another outlet linked to Hamas, claimed that during the operation, Hamas fighters attempted to capture members of the “Israeli special force,” but Israeli air intervention prevented them from doing so.
Meanwhile, Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the Government Media Office, said “Israeli commandos” attempted to carry out an operation in Gaza City but were discovered. Israel then launched heavy strikes involving more than ten warplanes, killing a woman and two children.
The woman killed was the wife of the Hamas interior security officer captured during the Israeli operation, Al Jazeera reported, citing a security official in Gaza.
While the operation was bold, it was by no means surprising. For over a year, Israel has provided several anti-Hamas Palestinian groups with weapons, air support, intelligence, and supplies, and has airlifted wounded mercenaries into Israel for medical care.
Israel has been escalating across Gaza nonstop for the last few months, jeopardizing the United States-sponsored peace plan.
The latest operation shows that Israel’s war on the Strip is not over — it has just transferred into a one-sided, prolonged conflict. The IDF is violating the ceasefire daily, under different excuses, and the death toll since the peace plan took effect in October of last year has reportedly exceeded 1,300.
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opinion. just a another bi-polar psyop report to endlessly repeat the word hamas in hollywood theater. only heavily indoctrinated idiot savant populations, believe israeli statements.
the kike terrorists have long tried to employ traitor factions from the abbas/ dahlan groupings to do their dirty work. these traitors have no support and are generally dealt with swiftly by the resistance.