Hamas has executed individuals it deemed guilty of espionage in areas of the Gaza Strip where officials of the terror group have been targeted, sources within Hamas told Saudi-owned news outlet Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday.
According to the report, the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, noted that the terror group had set up "revolutionary courts" to judge suspects. Those “who were proven to be guilty of espionage have already been executed, while investigations are still ongoing with others,” a source reportedly said.
Since the resumption of fighting on March 18, the IDF has killed 150 terrorists, including 10 top Hamas officials, in widespread strikes on the Gaza Strip, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
Among those confirmed killed in an IDF strike were Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qano; Issam al-Da'alis, who has served as Hamas’s political Gazan prime minister; Mahmoud Abu Watfa, the director-general of Hamas's Interior Ministry and related terror forces; Bahjat Abu Sultan, operational chief of Hamas's internal security apparatus; and Hamas justice minister Ahmed Omar al-Hatta.
Intelligence efforts during ceasefire
According to the report, a source within the terror group noted the impact of the targeted killings: "At the political, military, and governmental levels, and since the escalation of attacks, more stringent security measures have been implemented."
In addition, sources claimed, "Israel intensified its intelligence efforts during the ceasefire" by various technological means, such as tracking and eavesdropping on individuals.
Furthermore, Hamas's propaganda parades of the hostages during their release in the framework of the hostage-ceasefire deal allowed Israel to track and monitor officials, the sources added.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.