The capture on September 1, 2026, of Muin al-Arabid, head of Hamas’s internal security apparatus in the Gaza Strip, is far more than a successful operation by the Shin Bet and the IDF.
It offers another glimpse into how Israel intends to manage its campaign against Hamas during the ceasefire, as Hamas seeks to rebuild its military strength, according to senior security officials, who describe the operation as a major achievement for the Shin Bet under the command of David Zini.
According to these officials, Muin al-Arabid is an “intelligence treasure,” and the information in his possession is expected to help Israel understand what Hamas is planning and expose what they describe as Hamas’s deception campaign, in which the organization claims that it is supposedly prepared to disarm.
Senior political officials say that, at this stage, Israel is not returning to a broad ground offensive in Gaza and does not currently intend to violate the ceasefire and plunge the Strip back into full-scale war.
Instead, Israel is seeking to prevent Hamas from rebuilding its military strength while continuing to settle accounts with terrorists who took part in the atrocities of October 7, 2023, as part of its policy of targeted killings.
Senior security officials estimate that approximately 3,000 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives remain on Israel’s target list and have yet to be eliminated.
Israel’s campaign is based on highly precise intelligence, special forces, and the Israeli Air Force (IAF).
According to security officials, Israel has added a new dimension to its war against Hamas. Yesterday’s ground operation in the al-Katiba area of western Gaza City illustrates this new reality: Israel is no longer relying solely on airstrikes and targeted killings from the air, but is also conducting ground operations deep inside enemy territory.
A special Shin Bet force, assisted by the IDF, infiltrated the area where Hamas operates and reached al-Arabid’s home. The force captured him while he was wounded and extracted him from the Gaza Strip. The IAF struck threats that endangered the force and provided air cover throughout the operation. According to Israel, the force returned without casualties.
According to security officials, Israel has demonstrated that it possesses the intelligence and operational capabilities required to penetrate the heart of Hamas’s infrastructure and arrest a senior figure in the organization. This, they say, reflects a failure by Hamas and reinforces Israeli deterrence.
For Hamas, however, the fact that the Shin Bet and the IDF captured its internal security chief is the real problem. The organization is now trying to claim that Muin al-Arabid was merely a security officer, not the head of its internal security apparatus.
Analysts in the Gaza Strip acknowledge that the operation represents a failure for Hamas. They said the shock from the successful Shin Bet and IDF operation is considerable.
According to them, Hamas’s security apparatus suffered a major failure in protecting the organization from Israeli intelligence penetration. Preventing espionage, identifying collaborators, protecting senior commanders, and maintaining the secrecy of senior officials’ hiding places are among the apparatus’s primary responsibilities. Hamas failed on all of these fronts.
From the perspective of Israeli intelligence, security officials say, the operation could continue to yield results long after it has ended.
Al-Arabid is not merely a senior official. He is believed to possess extensive knowledge of the people, structures, and methods Hamas is using in an effort to continue operating in the Strip.
His interrogation could provide information about Hamas’s internal security network, the security arrangements protecting senior officials, hiding places, communications systems, the movement of operatives, and the mechanisms of control that Hamas is attempting to rebuild.
According to security officials, the operation is also a psychological warfare success. It is likely to increase suspicion and mistrust within Hamas and undermine the organization’s morale.
According to a joint statement by the IDF and Shin Bet, al-Arabid was involved in Hamas efforts to reestablish its control over northern Gaza and promote attacks against IDF troops. Now, Israeli security officials say, Hamas’s entire plan may be laid bare before the IDF, enabling Israel to thwart it.
According to security sources, Israel made the decision to carry out the operation alone. However, the Trump administration was briefed afterward and was informed of the operation’s importance in thwarting Hamas’s terrorist plans.
The bottom line, according to a senior security official, is that Israel cannot currently occupy the entire Gaza Strip. The ceasefire agreement constrains it, but it is continuing to act against Hamas attempts to rebuild its military capabilities.
The battlefield in Gaza, the official says, has effectively become a hunting ground, in which Israel is using precise intelligence to gradually but consistently eliminate operatives belonging to Hamas’s military wing.
