2024-03-21 14:00:24
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) captured more high-profile terrorists as the military operation in Gaza city’s Shifa hospital entered its fourth day. The Israeli military, supported by the national security agency Shin Bet, since Monday killed over 140 terrorists and nabbed hundreds others belonging to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror groups, Israeli news reports suggest.
“The latest raid has led to the apprehension of several high-ranking officials, having seemingly caught the Hamas terror group, who are known to use the hospital as a hide-out, by surprise,” the newspaper Israel Hayom reported Thursday evening. The military caught “key figures from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, who were instrumental in orchestrating operations both in Gaza and the West Bank,” the Israel newspaper added.
The IDF troops have retaken most of the complex, with Israeli troops engaged in isolated firefights with well dug-in terrorists, reports suggest. “Hamas and PIJ leaders are among 600 apprehended at the central Gazan hospital, after Israeli intelligence indicated the compound was retaken,” the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported Thursday evening. “The arrested terrorists were transferred to the ISA [Shin Bet] to be interrogated, and the IDF continued the operation in the Shifa hospital compound, saying firefights were ongoing.”
The IDF previously raided Shifa hospital in mid-November, uncovering and destroying the terror tunnels beneath the hospital. The Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists crawled back into the complex, using Gaza’s largest medical facility to hoard weapons and direct attacks against the Israeli troops.
Troops continue counterterrorism efforts in the Shifa Hospital:
????Approx. 600 terrorists have been apprehended and 140+ have been eliminated.
????Islamic Jihad operatives within the hospital surrendered themselves to the troops, including senior officials.
????Senior Hamas… pic.twitter.com/jwSiGBK6jA
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 21, 2024
The IDF on Thursday evening disclosed the details of the ongoing counter-terrorism raid:
Approximately 600 terrorists have been apprehended thus far, and more than 140 terrorists have been eliminated in encounters. Several weapons and intelligence documents that contribute to the ongoing combat were discovered during searches in the hospital.
The Islamic Jihad operatives in the hospital complex surrendered themselves to the troops, among them senior officials who were transferred to the ISA for further investigation, including:
Huasem Salama, responsible for intelligence and Head of the Observations Array in the Gaza Brigade, and his brother, Wissam Salama, in charge of combat propaganda in the Islamic Jihad’s Gaza Division.
Moreover, among those arrested are three senior officials from Hamas’ West Bank headquarters who direct terrorist activity from Judea and Samaria and were also transferred to the ISA for further investigation: Omar Azida, head of the Nablus Committee responsible for Hamas terrorist activity in the area, Mahmoud Kwasma, who planned and financed the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in 2014 and Hamdallah Hassan Ali, who promoted terrorist activity in Judea and Samaria in recent years.
The fighting in the area of the hospital continues with significant engagements with the enemy and exchanges of fire. The forces are continuing to operate in and to search the area, locating weapons and apprehending terrorists in close-quarter encounters.
Breaking Now: ????IDF Spokesman now: The Shifa Hospital operation, was the largest operation IDF has conducted since 10/7. We captured the entire leadership of the PIJ in Gaza and many senior Hamas members; we will only reveal their names after their questioning so as not to reveal…
— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) March 21, 2024
While Israel gave prior warnings during the November operation, this time the military carried out a surprise raid on Hamas-infested hospital — catching the terrorists off-guard.
“Some IDF sources explained that the terror groups likely returned to Shifa, despite the IDF already having cleaned it out in November 2023, because they did not expect the military to return to the hospital in the middle of Ramadan, with a rise in global criticism of Israel, and with hostage negotiations at a critical point,” the Jerusalem Post reported Thursday.
Do y’all remember last time when the IDF entered Shifa Hospital, they gave Hxmas a month’s notice before they entered…
This time, zero notice.
It might have been a trap… 90 terrorist eliminated, 650 terrorists captured!! Many who are very senior… I believe things are about… pic.twitter.com/itEeERM6t8
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 21, 2024
The surprise raid on Shifa marks a shift in the Israeli military strategy. “These IDF sources said that the paradigm for IDF action in Gaza has shifted, and it is now ready to act anywhere and anytime,” the JPost noted.
This photo collage released by the IDF shows some of the 358 confirmed terror operatives captured by troops at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital. In all, more than 650 suspects were detained. pic.twitter.com/VZLKqwjkee
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 21, 2024
Palestinians terrorists execute teenager accused of ‘collaborating’ with Israel, mutilate his body
The Islamic Jihad’s (PIJ) terrorist group in the West Bank town of Jenin executed a teenager for his alleged ‘collaboration’ with the Israeli security services. After the 19-year-old boy was tortured and executed, the terrorists and Jenin residents reportedly mutilated and desecrated his body. The relatives of the slain boy, including his twin brother, were involved in the brutal killing, news reports indicate.
The lynching took place as the Israeli military intensifies operations against terrorists in the West Bank. On Wednesday, an Israel airstrike took out two terrorists in Jenin, a major PIJ terror stronghold.
????WATCH: CCTV footage of the Israeli airstrike on a vehicle in the West Bank city of Jenin
????-27A pic.twitter.com/Kn623NRsK7
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) March 20, 2024
The Israeli news website Ynet reported the boy killing:
Members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s (PIJ) Jenin Brigade executed 19-year-old Karim Jabarin, who was affiliated with the terrorist group, after accusing him of collaborating with Israel overnight Thursday. Reports indicate that his brother, a PIJ operative named Karem, carried out the execution.
Palestinian reports suggest the executed terrorist provided information that led to the elimination of four terrorists by Israeli security forces. Additionally, it was claimed he confessed to his actions before being executed. After his death, a mob reportedly gathered, cursed and desecrated his body. His family has publicly disowned him.
Palestinian reports suggest the executed terrorist provided information that led to the elimination of four terrorists by Israeli security forces. Additionally, it was claimed he confessed to his actions before being executed. After his death, a mob reportedly gathered, cursed and desecrated his body. His family has publicly disowned him.
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