Video: The order to eliminate 3 senior jihadists that launched Operation Shield and Arrow (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)
Less than a day after the ceasefire went into effect and Operation Shield and Arrow ended, the IDF today published documentation and recordings of the forces' activities throughout the operation. Among other things, they also published communications from the control cell in the air force pit, in front of the Shin Bet's special operations room, during the assassination of senior Islamic Jihad figures at the beginning of the operation in Gaza. During the five days of the operation, the IDF eliminated six senior members of the terrorist organization, attacked 278 targets in the Gaza Strip and destroyed Islamic Jihad weapons production capabilities.
The IDF explained the timing of the operation. Initially, it was decided to launch an operation against Islamic Jihad in response to the firing of rockets into Sderot after the death of the security prisoner who was on hunger strike. According to the IDF, even Hamas was surprised by the magnitude of the response of Islamic Jihad, which fired about 100 rockets at Sderot.
The operation, initially dubbed "Black Cloak," was delayed because the IDF and Shin Bet were looking for operational opportunities and made an effort to minimize harm to uninvolved civilians. The IDF claims that there was an insistence on the part of senior members of the General Staff to attack the three senior Palestinian Jihad operatives simultaneously, and therefore the operation was repeatedly postponed.
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"The success of the targeted killings left Islamic Jihad in shock" (Photo: official website, IDF Spokesperson)
According to the IDF, the success of the targeted killings has shocked Islamic Jihad. Before one of the targeted killings, an in-depth analysis of the extent of the rooms was carried out, based on intelligence information, according to which they understood which room one of the senior officials would sleep in just before the attack. In another case, it emerged that senior jihadist Abu Daqa was followed for 36 hours, while the wanted man walked around with his family in a vehicle as a human shield until the moment of the targeted killing of him in the apartment.
The IDF estimated that when Islamic Jihad commanders in the Gaza Strip emerged from their hiding places and wandered among the headquarters, they would discover that the entire Islamic Jihad rocket system had been destroyed. Their command and control capabilities were severely damaged, including 100 rocket launching pits, hundreds of rockets that exploded on the ground, 20 operatives' homes, 17 production sites including a very sensitive site in the tunnel, commanders and seven outposts. Regarding the issue of the deaths of non-involved civilians, the IDF explained that the matter is under investigation, which has not yet been completed.
Dozens of hours of monitoring senior Islamic Jihad figures (Photo: official website, IDF Spokesperson)
As part of the targeted killings carried out by the IDF, Unit 9900 of the Intelligence Directorate introduced new structural analysis tools to the operational effort in such a way that it enabled the assassinations with the assistance of the entire division, the Shin Bet and the Air Force. An analysis of the IAF airstrikes shows that 389 bombs were dropped on 289 targets, and at the end of the analysis it shows that 90% were attacked as planned. The air defense system increased the interception rate to 95.6%. 1,469 rockets were fired into Israeli territory, 473 of which were intercepted.
"It was important for us to start the operation with a complete surprise" (Photo: official website, IDF Spokesperson)
The IDF assesses that Hamas' responsibility towards civilians, with an emphasis on the departure of 17,<> workers from the Gaza Strip to Israel, among other civilian issues, played a role in its decision to impose a ceasefire on Islamic Jihad.
The commander of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano, concluded, "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." He added that it was "important to maintain a continuum of assassinations and every day to thwart." He praised the Shin Bet, the Air Force and the Intelligence Directorate, saying, "In this partnership there is an expression of humility, and an understanding that I am here for the cause."
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- Operation Shield and Arrow
- Gaza
- Islamic Jihad
- Air Force
- intelligence
- Hamas