Undercover Shin Bet operatives reportedly entered Gaza disguised as humanitarian workers, distributing food and beverages to unsuspecting market vendors, according to a KAN News report. The operation was part of the intelligence-gathering effort that preceded the recent capture of Mu’in al-Arabid, Hamas’s head of internal security in the Gaza Strip.

According to KAN, the Israeli operatives created several small-scale humanitarian aid initiatives and began selling products to local residents. The Gazans then resold those goods in markets throughout the area. After developing relationships with shopkeepers and other vendors, the Shin Bet personnel persuaded some of them to help track the movements of individuals, including al-Arabid.

KAN sources said the Gazans did not discover that they had unknowingly assisted the Shin Bet until after al-Arabid was captured.

The IDF and Shin Bet confirmed Tuesday night that their forces had captured Hamas’s head of internal security in Gaza. The operation represented one of the deepest and most significant high-level captures inside the Strip in an extended period.

The official announcement did not explicitly state that Gaza-based anti-Hamas gangs were instrumental in the mission. However, it appeared to allude to their involvement by referring to Shin Bet “special forces.”

Shin Bet built local relationships to gather intelligence

According to sources cited by KAN, Shin Bet personnel took the place of their Gazan customers in a local market one day before the capture operation. They concealed their weapons inside the vendors’ stalls and retrieved them when the operation got underway before leaving the area.

The sources said the Shin Bet operatives themselves spent only one or two days physically operating in the market. Much of the intelligence used in the mission was reportedly obtained through relationships the agents had established with local residents.

The Gazans questioned following the operation said they had no knowledge of the planned capture, according to the KAN report.

Netanyahu and Katz emphasize al-Arabid’s Hamas role

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz both highlighted the significance of al-Arabid within Hamas. Netanyahu said al-Arabid had played an important role in overseeing the concealment of more than 250 Israeli hostages following the October 7, 2023, attack.

A Palestinian source in Gaza, however, told the Post that the captured man was responsible for Hamas’s internal security apparatus only in the Gaza City area. If accurate, that would place him closer to a mid-level Hamas official rather than one of the organization’s top national security figures.

The source also said an anti-Hamas faction participated in the operation and claimed that Hamas was attempting to “downplay the incident” while “its internal security forces are actively pursuing militias supported by Israel.”

The wording of the final IDF and Shin Bet statement appeared to place al-Arabid somewhere between the competing descriptions: portraying him as a significant Hamas figure, but apparently not as senior as Netanyahu and Katz had suggested.