Israel excludes some Hamas officials in Gaza from target list — Jerusalem Post

Israeli security agencies are temporarily excluding mayors and senior officials of Hamas’s governmental and municipal system in the Gaza Strip from the target list. As reported by the Jerusalem Post, military sources confirmed to Walla that the decision is linked to concerns about a possible collapse of local governing bodies and civilian chaos.

According to this assessment, eliminating the leaders of Hamas’s local structures could lead to the destruction of the governance system in the Strip, with the consequences of which Israel would have to deal. The Israeli side also believes that international humanitarian organizations would not be able to fill the power vacuum that could emerge after such officials are removed.

Operations against the military wing

At the same time, the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service, according to the publication, are maintaining a high pace of operations against members and commanders of Hamas’s military wing. Every day, they carry out two to three targeted eliminations of people whom the Israeli side links to the October 7 attack, preparations for attacks against Israel, or the rebuilding of the group’s infrastructure.

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Israeli security officials link the activity against Hamas’s military wing to improved intelligence capabilities. According to them, over the past year military intelligence and the Shin Bet have developed a network of human sources and receive more accurate real-time data.

Civil administration

Despite strikes against Hamas, the group, according to Israeli agencies’ assessment, continues to control the civil administration of the Gaza Strip. This includes, in particular, the economy, internal security, energy, education, healthcare, and local authorities.

Representatives of the Israel Defense Forces’ Southern Command claim that Hamas influences the population through detentions, interrogations, violence, intimidation, and forced tax collection. Israel’s current government, meanwhile, opposes transferring control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority and insists that the territory be governed by a third party instead of Hamas.