Israel SitRep: Jan. 31, 2024

Today’s Issue: IDF Floods Hamas Tunnels with Seawater | Israeli Undercover Forces Raid Jenin Hospital, Kill Three Terrorists, Foil ‘Imminent Attack’ | IDF Operates in West Bank, Confiscates Weapons, Arrests Wanted Persons | Shin Bet Reveals Hamas Plot to Use Unwitting Israelis to Deliver Weapons | Latest FDD Analysis

IDF Floods Hamas Tunnels with Seawater: On Tuesday, the IDF announced that several army units, working with the Defense Ministry, have developed tools for pumping high-flow water into Hamas tunnels in Gaza. The IDF uses this method only where suitable and takes into account the soil and water systems in the area. The army said that the project is “one of several” developed by the IDF and the defense establishment to address the problem of Hamas infrastructures in “lower Gaza.” According to the army, the tool is a “significant engineering and technological breakthrough.” In December, the IDF undertook a trial of the tunnel-flooding method, which was successful. Defense officials believe that the tunnel network in Gaza is 350-450 miles long.

Israeli Undercover Forces Raid Jenin Hospital, Kill Three Terrorists, Foil ‘Imminent Attack’: On Tuesday, the IDF, the Shin Bet, and the police Yamam counter-terrorism unit raided the Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin, killing Hamas members Muhammad Jalamneh, Bassel Ghazawi, and Muhammad Ghazawi and foiling an imminent attack. Hospital CCTV footage shows armed undercover agents, some dressed as medical staff, some in civilian clothing, and others dressed as women. According to the IDF, Jalamneh was in contact with Hamas headquarters abroad. He transferred weapons and ammunition to operatives for shooting attacks and was planning a raid inspired by the Hamas October 7 attacks. Muhammad Ghazawi, an activist in the Jenin Battalion, was involved in terrorist activities, including shooting at IDF soldiers, and his brother Bassel was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative. Jalamneh was hiding in the hospital, and a gun found on him was confiscated. The IDF statement noted that for a long time, wanted men have been hiding in hospitals, using them to plan terrorist attacks and as a base from which to carry out attacks, in the belief that being in a hospital would protect them from Israeli security forces.

IDF Operates in West Bank, Confiscates Weapons, Arrests Wanted Persons: On Tuesday, the IDF announced an operation in the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps by Menashe Brigade soldiers who searched for explosive devices planted under roads. Troops arrested three wanted individuals in Nablus and another three in the village of Ein Arik, where they also seized tens of thousands in funds intended for terrorist activities. In Azzun, troops destroyed explosive devices. In the village of Tarkumiyah, soldiers seized weapons. The IDF on Wednesday announced an overnight operation throughout the West Bank in which 14 wanted persons were arrested. In the Kalandiya Refugee Camp, forces seized three weapons, and in Anata, they found another weapon. In Nablus, troops confiscated a Carlo submachine gun. Since the start of the war, close to 3,000 wanted persons have been arrested in the West Bank, over 1,350 of them connected to Hamas.

Shin Bet Reveals Hamas Plot to Use Unwitting Israelis to Deliver Weapons: The Shin Bet has revealed a Hamas operation that used fake social media accounts to lure unwitting Israelis into delivering weapons for terror attacks in Israel. The operation began before the current war. In a raid on December 18, IDF forces found documents and seized computers with information on the plot, one of which showed that Hamas members in Gaza were in touch with Israeli Jews in the Jerusalem area. The fake social media accounts presented themselves as belonging to Israelis living abroad who wished to have packages delivered and were looking for paid couriers. Those who fell victim to the plot were asked last September to deliver packages in Israel and the West Bank. The Shin Bet believes that Hamas intended to use these people later on to deliver weapons or explosive devices to operatives in Israel or to place them in locations chosen by Hamas.

Latest FDD Analysis:

Today at 8:30am (ET): “FDD Morning Brief,” Jonathan Schanzer and Mark Dubowitz, FDD Event

“UNRWA Exposed: Examining the Agency’s Mission and Failures,” Richard Goldberg, Testimony for House Foreign Affairs Committee

“Why pro-Iran media is worried about Israel and Gaza’s Philadelphi Corridor,” Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

“Does Iran expect US retaliation for drone killing in Jordan?” Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

“The Iran-backed murder of three Americans in uniform,” Bill Roggio, Joe Truzman, and Bradley Bowman, Generation Jihad (by FDD’s Long War Journal)

“IDF consolidates gains in Khan Younis,” Seth J. Frantzman, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Iranian reactions to the Islamic State’s suicide bombings in Kerman,” Janatan Sayeh, FDD’s Long War Journal

“The Israel Air Force bombed a Hezbollah’s airstrip in Lebanon. Here’s what’s known about it.” David Daoud, FDD’s Long War Journal

“IDF Destroys Hamas Rocket Launchers After Large Barrage on Tel Aviv,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Israel, Egypt Consider Shared Border Security,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Israel Floods Some Gaza Tunnels,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief