Hamas Official Captured in Gaza: Security Operation Details

Israeli security forces captured Hamas's head of general security on Tuesday in a complex operation in western Gaza City that nearly went awry, according to Defense Minister Israel Katz. The senior Hamas official was detained in a joint operation involving Israeli forces and a Palestinian militia.

Early Tuesday morning, residents of communities near Gaza heard loud explosions as the Israeli Air Force conducted strikes in the Gaza Strip. According to Arab media reports, approximately 18 airstrikes hit western Gaza City, with Israeli aircraft flying at low altitude over the area. Palestinian sources reported four fatalities and several injuries from the strikes.

Reports indicated the strikes were connected to activity by a local militia cooperating with Israel, which attempted to abduct a prominent Hamas figure. When the attempt was discovered, a firefight broke out, prompting Israeli air intervention. Despite the complications, the senior official was successfully detained. Defense Minister Katz disclosed the arrest during a visit to Netiv Ha'asara, a community near the Gaza border.

An IDF spokesperson said several targets in Gaza were struck to remove threats to security forces, and that no Israeli personnel were harmed in the operation.

Speaking at Netiv Ha'asara on the opening day of the school year, Katz said: "I am here in Netiv Ha'asara, together with the council head and community leadership, on the day schools open. Even as we stand here, our forces' operations in Gaza continue constantly."

Katz revealed that "a short time ago, a senior Hamas terrorist was arrested and this is our policy: we don't wait for threats, but pursue Hamas terrorists, thwart them, and destroy their terror infrastructure.

"We have built in Gaza a strong and unprecedented security zone to protect residents and IDF soldiers. Close to 70% of the Strip's area is destroyed, without residents, without tunnels, and without houses --- and the IDF controls the territory.

"We are not leaving Gaza until the Strip is demilitarized, Hamas is disarmed, and all terror tunnels are destroyed. And even after that, the IDF will remain in Gaza in defensive lines and ensure the security of the western Negev communities. Any attempt to bypass the security zone through aerial launches will meet with a harsh response."

The Defense Minister added a warning: "For every hair on the head of an Israeli child that falls in the border communities, we will take off the heads of Hamas leaders in Gaza. As the Prime Minister and I have instructed the IDF: a balloon is treated like a kite, and a kite like a drone, with or without explosives.

"The response to any launch from Gaza will be powerful and clear: thwarting those responsible for organizing and executing the launch, and evacuating any neighborhood from which launches are carried out in order to remove the threat and deal with the terror infrastructure there.

"The test will not be in their launches --- but in our response. And it will be harsh. We are leading in all sectors and borders a policy of security at any cost, and the entire cost will be on the enemy's account."