‘Death or surrender’: IDF arrests 650, including ‘senior Hamas officials,’ in Shifa

IDF arrested “very senior” Hamas officials in Shifa but cannot disclose the names due to ongoing investigations, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

The IDF announced on Thursday that in its four-day operation in Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, it has now killed around 140 terrorists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as arrested around 650 additional terrorists.

This was a significant jump from the 90 killed and 160-350 arrested, which the IDF confirmed on Wednesday.

Curiously, the IDF said that all of the Islamic Jihad operatives in the area quickly surrendered, whereas Hamas’s forces were split into two groups, with one large group also surrendering en masse and one large group continuing to resist.

According to the IDF, this second group’s continued fighting could prolong the operation for several additional days.

IDF estimates are that there are an additional 50 Hamas fighters to subdue within the Shifa Complex, of which 20 may have significant roles.

IDF sources said that the operation had been planned for over a month.

Previously, The Jerusalem Post had reported that the operation had been carefully planned for some time, but it was unclear whether the planning went back a week or longer.

Such an extensive period of time indicates that the IDF may have intentionally waited longer for more terrorist senior officials to arrive before attacking.

Senior terrorist officials captured and killed

Gaza City Intelligence Surveillance-Lookout Chief Husam Salame and Information Warfare Head Wasem Salame were both among the senior Islamic Jihad officials whom the IDF captured.

Senior Hamas officials whom the IDF captured included Nablus Terror Head Amad Atzida, Hamdala Hassan Ali, who has managed much of the terror in the Qalqilya area, and the previously announced arrest of Mahmoud Kawasme, the last terrorist conspirer connected to the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in 2014.

Some IDF sources explained that the terror groups likely returned to Shifa, despite the IDF already having cleaned it out in November 2023, because they did not expect the military to return to the hospital in the middle of Ramadan, with a rise in global criticism of Israel, and with hostage negotiations at a critical point.

These IDF sources said that the paradigm for IDF action in Gaza has shifted, and it is now ready to act anywhere and anytime, regardless of the human shields Hamas hides behind.

In addition, IDF sources said that the military’s level of intelligence now in Gaza is at unprecedented levels due to having achieved operational control, even in areas where it seems troops have abandoned.

IDF sources also described additional details of the operation, including that the first forces started moving toward and into Shifa at 2:15 a.m., with the compound surrounded by 2:30 a.m.

Next, Shayetet 13 and Nahal forces penetrated two different areas, followed only a few minutes later by two other separate forces penetrating, including the 424th battalion and a mix of the 52nd and 401st battalions.

Around 6,000 civilians were also evacuated, but unlike the November operation when there was no inspection of evacuees, these civilians were evacuated with a careful inspection to catch all of the terrorists.

A collage of some of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists arrested by the IDF at Shifa Hospital (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
IDF arrested unnamed senior Hamas officials in Shifa, Hagari announces

The IDF arrested “very senior” Hamas officials in Gaza’s Shifa Hospital but cannot disclose the names due to ongoing investigations, IDF spokesman R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a Thursday evening briefing.

“The Shifa operation is the largest since the launch of the war,” Hagari noted. “We captured the higher echelon of Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders.”

According to Hagari, terrorists continued to hide in the hospital’s maternity ward, vowing that the IDF would reach everyone. “If you surrender, you will not be killed,” he said.