Hamas’ Protection of its Leaders While Putting Civilians in Harm’s Way Exposed

By Yoni Weiss

Avichai Adraee, the IDF spokesperson in Arabic, on Monday disclosed collaboration between terrorist factions in Gaza aimed at concealing information and strategically choosing launch areas away from the residences of Hamas leaders, but without concern for Gazan civilians.

Adraee revealed on the weekend an official Hamas document recovered by Israeli soldiers in Gaza. The document, dating back to 2020 and Operation Breaking Dawn in 2022, was issued by Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades and signed by high-ranking members. It openly discusses concealing casualties resulting from failed rocket launches, attributing blame to Israel instead.

In these documents, Hamas urged other militias in Gaza, particularly the al-Quds Brigades of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), to take responsibility for failed launches, referred to euphemistically as “local rockets.” PIJ was asked to hide the failed launches to maintain the image of resistance.

Moreover, Hamas recommended against PIJ launching rockets near Hamas leaders’ homes to avoid repeat incidents, while no measures were suggested to prevent rockets being fired near other Gazan residents’ houses.

The documents also revealed Hamas’s practice of recycling the names of Gazan casualties resulting from failed launches, attributing them to Israeli airstrikes in their public reports, thus distorting the truth and inflating casualty numbers.

These revelations shed light on the extent of Hamas’s control and coordination with other militias in Gaza, debunking the notion of “unruly factions” acting independently against Israel and reaffirming Hamas’s dominance.

Adraee emphasized the consequences of Hamas and PIJ’s failed launches on Gazan civilians, highlighting the deliberate concealment of information and the manipulation of casualties for propaganda purposes.

During the ongoing conflict, IDF records indicate a significant percentage of failed launches by Hamas and PIJ, with 11% of rockets aimed at Israel since Oct. 7 landing within Gaza’s territory.

Earlier disclosures by Adraee also revealed Hamas’s concerns regarding PIJ’s propaganda efforts on their media platforms, indicating internal tensions within terrorist organizations in Gaza.