‘Fauda’ in real life: Shin Bet agents posed as aid distributors in Gaza, report says

Shin Bet agents reportedly entered Gaza posing as humanitarian aid workers, selling goods through local markets while gathering intelligence that helped lead to the capture of Hamas’s internal security chief, Mu’in al-Arabid.

According to KAN News, the Israeli operatives created several small aid projects and distributed food and drink to Gazan market stall owners. The owners then sold the goods in local markets. Once the agents had established relationships with them, they asked the Gazans to help monitor the movements of various people, including al-Arabid.

KAN’s sources said the Gazans did not realize they had helped the Shin Bet until after al-Arabid was captured. One day before the operation, the operatives reportedly replaced their Gazan customers at the market and hid weapons in their stalls. When the operation began, they retrieved the weapons and fled.

The agents had spent only a day or two physically in the market area, the sources said. They relied mainly on relationships developed with local residents to collect intelligence. The Gazans who assisted them later said they knew nothing about the plan.

The IDF and Shin Bet confirmed on Tuesday night that they had captured Hamas’s head of internal security in Gaza in what they described as the first high-level capture operation deep inside the territory in a long time. The official statement did not directly mention Gaza gangs, although it referred to Shin Bet “special forces.” The Jerusalem Post said it and other media outlets had received indications, along with confirmation in foreign reports, that anti-Hamas Gaza gangs played a central role with IDF and Shin Bet support.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz highlighted al-Arabid’s importance. Netanyahu said al-Arabid played a major role in managing the concealment of more than 250 Israeli hostages after October 7, 2023.