(Jewish Chronicle-UK) Elon Perry - Undercover IDF soldiers disguised as beggars and vegetable sellers were key to Israel's daring plot to target Hamas commander Mohhammed Deif. The missile attack which killed him last month came after a secret operation within Gaza by an undercover IDF team that pinpointed his location. One Israeli agent posed as a market stallholder, selling vegetables outside the building Deif was believed to visit regularly. The Israelis had been aware for months that Deif had become a regular visitor at the al-Mawasi tent complex on the Gazan coast. Prior to his visits, Deif would enter an apartment building near the complex where he would meet fellow Hamas operatives to receive updates. Then the IDF received reliable information from local collaborators and Israeli undercover units about the timing of Deif's possible next visit. The Duvdevan undercover team, whose activities were featured in the TV series "Fauda," arrived and began trawling through the displaced populace. Some posed as UNRWA workers coming to deliver aid, some as Muslim religious figures who had come to lift the spirits of the evacuees. This enabled them to develop physical and verbal contact with the displaced Gazans so as to collect as much intelligence as possible. On July 13, news spread among the Gazans that their hero Deif was coming to visit and the undercover team passed on this information. Two fighter jets flew on alert for seven hours, waiting for Deif to enter the building. Deif was finally seen entering the building, the signal was given, and the IDF ground forces quietly and calmly made their way out of the area. The first plane hit the building and completely destroyed it. The second plane then laid a belt of fire with tiny bombs around the building to discourage Hamas operatives from attempting to rescue Deif from the flames. The final stage involved firing a bunker-penetrating missile that could reach an underground floor beneath the building where Deif would try to flee. According to intelligence acquired after the incident, he did just that.
2024-08-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive