The arrest of a prominent Hamas leader provides an “intelligence treasure” for Israel

These details come three days after the initial official announcement of the arrest of this prominent leader, in a move that Israeli officials described as achieving a qualitative intelligence breakthrough in light of the ongoing war.

According to security reports, the arrest operation was subject to careful intelligence and military planning that continued for several weeks. The Israeli security services initially discussed the option of liquidating Al-Arbid through an air strike, but the final decision sided with the option of storming him and arresting him alive in broad daylight, with the aim of extracting what the sources described as the “intelligence treasure” in his possession.

Al-Arbid is considered a valuable target due to the sensitive positions he held, as he managed the Internal Security Service responsible for counterintelligence and protecting the hiding sites of the movement’s senior leaders, which gives him precise knowledge of the organization’s secret systems and internal networks.

Al-Arbeed's intelligence importance is not limited only to his knowledge of the security structure, but extends to his direct supervision of the complex logistical file related to the transfer and concealment of Israeli hostages within the Gaza Strip, as well as his responsibility for tracking and executing Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel, and managing the movement's attempts to rebuild its control in northern Gaza. It is expected that his interrogation at Shin Bet headquarters will provide crucial information about the locations of the remaining leaders and communication networks, which may change the facts on the ground.

On the other hand, the operation left shock and confusion among the Hamas movement, which initially rushed to belittle the detainee and described him as merely a “junior security officer” in an attempt to reduce the amount of media and moral damage.

However, Palestinian sources confirmed that the operation witnessed an exchange of fire that resulted in deaths, while local security sources accused the Israeli army of targeting civilian vehicles to provide cover for the implementing force.

On the political level, Hamas officials warned that this arrest constitutes a direct threat to the ceasefire agreement, fearing that its security and political repercussions will be reflected in the existing arrangements in the Strip.

This bold operation reflects a shift in Israeli strategy, from relying on air strikes to carrying out precise and complex ground operations to target high-value symbols in the heart of crowded areas.

The military sources confirmed that the army moved to "remove an immediate threat," in a message that the Israeli security services are capable of reaching their targets and surprising them, regardless of the degree of their fortification or the complexity of the surrounding environment.