Hamas May Have Misled Israel in Gaza Strike Targeting Leader

An Israeli airstrike on a residential apartment west of Gaza City on Saturday morning targeted Ali Al-Amoudi, a Hamas leadership figure in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources told i24news that while the apartment belonged to Al-Amoudi, he had left it a day prior for meetings elsewhere in Gaza. No one was in the apartment at the time of the strike, and all casualties were civilians residing in the same and lower floors, as the rockets hit the first and ground floors. This has raised questions about whether Hamas intentionally misled Israel, possibly using a double agent who provided false information. Sources explained that Hamas has previously uncovered agents whose handlers in the Shin Bet were unaware of their capture, allowing Hamas to recruit them as double agents. This tactic aims to inflict security damage and demonstrate the Shin Bet's failure to eliminate key figures. The sources noted that such operations are feasible, especially since Mouin Al-Arabeed, head of Hamas's internal security and a prominent figure in its security apparatus, was directly responsible for the double agent file. After the 2017 assassination of Qassam Brigades leader Mazen Faqha by collaborators with Israel, Al-Arabeed attempted to recruit an agent to kill his handler, an Israeli intelligence officer. However, the recruited agent informed the officer of the plan, and was kept in Israel. For over a decade, a covert intelligence war has been waged between Hamas and Israel. Hamas suffered security setbacks due to the discovery of numerous agents, leading to increased targeting and some agents being turned to work for Hamas, resulting in Israeli intelligence failures. Israel has reportedly failed to find agents in sensitive locations, potentially enabling Hamas to execute its deceptive plan, which sources suggest contributed to the October 7, 2023 attack.