By The Smartencyclopedia Staff & Agencies
In the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas-led assault on Israel, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has established a new task force to gather intelligence on the whereabouts of senior leaders of the terror group and the hostages it is holding in Gaza, as reported by The New York Times on Friday, citing US officials.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reportedly issued the directive to create the task force in response to the attack, during which approximately 3,000 Hamas terrorists entered southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the capture of 240 hostages, including several US citizens.
The Office of the US Director of National Intelligence has elevated the priority of Hamas, moving it from a low level four status before October 7 to a more urgent level two, just below major American foes like Iran, North Korea, Russia, and China.
The task force’s primary focus is on sharing intelligence with Israel regarding the location of senior Hamas leaders. However, it remains unclear how effective these efforts have been, as none of the major leaders in Gaza has been killed or captured so far.
While the US has been providing information to Israel, it did not play a role in the killing of deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri, who was targeted in a drone strike in Beirut on January 2.
Despite knowledge of the location of top leaders such as Yahya Sinwar and Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif, Israel may face challenges in acting on this information, particularly if hostages surround these figures.
US officials are reportedly encouraging Israel to shift its military strategy to focus on eliminating or capturing top leaders rather than conducting broader strikes that result in significant civilian casualties in Gaza. Some officials argue that targeting lower-level Hamas members is misguided, as they can be easily replaced.
Israel claims to have killed over 8,500 Hamas terrorists in Gaza, along with another 1,000 killed in Israel on October 7. The report suggests that removing key figures like Sinwar and Deif could provide Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with more flexibility to wind down the military campaign in Gaza.
The task force is also concentrating on locating hostages and providing information on their conditions. CIA Director Robert Burns has reportedly been involved in negotiations leading to the release of some hostages in late November.
As of now, 132 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 are believed to remain in Gaza, with their fate uncertain. Efforts are ongoing to secure their release and gather more intelligence on the situation.