On Sunday evening, the IDF released a radio recording from the IAF's control cell from the opening night of Operation Shield and Arrow, in which in less than a minute three senior Islamic Jihad operatives were eliminated at around 02 a.m., in a surprising move that opened the round of fighting.
As already reported, the operation had already been authorized a few days earlier, after the 104 rockets were fired at Israel on May 2, but the IDF was waiting for a suitable opportunity – in which there would be optimal intelligence regarding the location of the three senior officials, and weather conditions would allow it. Waiting for the right time caused the operation to be postponed several times, until all conditions seemed optimal.
The dramatic recordings during the foiling of senior jihadists // Photo: IDF Spokesperson
At the same time, the IDF is investigating the killing of nine uninvolved Gazan civilians in the first wave of "Magen and Arrow" assassinations, with the understanding that everything is being done to prevent harm to non-involved civilians. As evidence, the IDF notes that the operation was postponed after one night it turned out that one of the terrorists was with his family and there was a real fear that his children would be harmed.
Herzi Halevy assessing the situation, photo: IDF Spokesperson
"It was important for us to start the operation with a complete surprise, out of routine, because against terrorist organizations that use their citizens and families to defend themselves, we have to work with smart and sophisticated methods," said the commander of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano. "It was important for us to maintain a continuum of assassinations and every day to thwart. This fact is the fruit of a partnership of work without ego and without regard to what the credit is."
Air Force Commander Tomer Bar, Photo: IDF Spokesperson
The IDF notes that the objective of the operation was to restore quiet and stability to the south of the country, and in fact to preserve the "improved security regime" created after Operation Guardian of the Walls. Under this regime, the IDF changed the nature of its responses to provocations from Gaza, and began to respond harshly to firing at open areas. As a result, Hamas has a loss price for operations from Gaza, but also the possibility of profit, including in the form of the 17,500 workers Israel allows to bring in every day.
The operation was planned in detail, photo: IDF Spokesperson
The IDF entered Operation Shield and Arrow with the understanding that Hamas is not interested in a campaign, and it can stand aside and not join. As evidence, the army notes that although the month of Ramadan was very tense on various fronts, Hamas in Gaza was one of the most restrained actors in recent times.
Hamas exerted pressure
According to the IDF, the elimination of the three senior Islamic Jihad operatives in one fell swoop, in a seemingly routine situation, brought about two main achievements: first, a real sense of shock in Islamic Jihad, which did not think that Israel would dare to make such a move in a routine situation. The shock and embarrassment caused Islamic Jihad to wait about 36 hours until the first rocket fire into Israel after the assassinations.
IDF fighters in Operation Shield and Arrow, photo: IDF Spokesperson
Drone, photo: IDF Spokesperson
The second achievement is functional, since the senior officials who were assassinated were indeed significant figures who recently initiated rocket fire at Israel and directed terror from Judea and Samaria. In total, during the operation, the IDF eliminated six senior commanders of the rogue terrorist organization.
After recovering from the shock, Islamic Jihad responded according to its operational capabilities – firing mostly at short ranges, 20 percent of which fell inside Gaza, killing at least three Palestinians. The organization also responded by firing at ranges of more than 40 km, without success in carrying out an anti-tank attack or penetrating into Israeli territory.
The IDF believes that it was not easy for Hamas to see the IDF attacks and the assassinations of senior figures, but the ruling organization in the Gaza Strip nevertheless chose not to join the confrontation, despite the fact that after Operation Dawn it was severely criticized for choosing not to intervene.
Israeli Air Force pilot on his way to attack the Gaza Strip, photo: IDF Spokesperson
At one point, Hamas even pressured Islamic Jihad to end the event, but Islamic Jihad in Gaza received instructions from its Beirut-based officials, who ordered it to continue fighting. The IDF also notes that the heads of Islamic Jihad received explicit instructions from Iran, which urged them to continue the round, and emphasize that the fact that the other sectors remained quiet during the operation, including Lebanon, is an achievement.
At the end of the operation, the IDF notes that Islamic Jihad emerged from the operation with a severe and unprecedented blow to its command and control after losing six senior officials within a short time. The army is confident that the ranks will not remain empty, but the severe damage will affect the organization.
Planning the operation in the operations room, photo: IDF Spokesperson
The army notes with satisfaction that all of Islamic Jihad's production infrastructure was destroyed during the operation, when they do not even understand the damage caused to them. At the same time, the IDF also understands that Operation Shield and Arrow did not solve the problem of the Gaza Strip, but only made it possible to preserve the security regime created in Guardian of the Walls – and that was actually the purpose of the operation: to restore quiet and stability in the south of the country. The IDF does not yet know whether the goal has been achieved, and it seems that we will only be able to discover this through the test of time.
IDF soldiers on standby, photo: IDF Spokesperson
Meanwhile, the defense establishment is also preparing for Jerusalem Day and other commemoration days in the near future. The IDF assumes that in the West Bank you no longer need motivation to carry out an attack, and anyone who can carry out an attack will try to carry it out. At the same time, at least in the Gaza arena, the assessment is that Israel is reaching Jerusalem Day better than if the operation had not taken place on that date.
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