The brother of a senior Hamas official was arrested last month while attempting to enter Israel from the Gaza Strip, Israel’s internal security agency announced on Wednesday.
Bilal Razania, a member of Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was taken in for questioning on November 27. He gave Israeli officials information on his role within Hamas, as well as that of other Hamas members, including some who were involved in the 2014 war between the terrorist group and Israel.
Razania also spoke to the Shin Bet about Hamas’ extensive use of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, for military purposes. He said that his brother Mustafa, who heads Hamas’ internal security apparatus, used the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza as a military base during the war. (Hamas leaders similarly used Shifa hospital in Gaza City as “a de facto headquarters” during the conflict, The Washington Post reported last year. A report compiled by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center found that Hamas used over 10 hospitals during Operation Cast Lead in 2008 to launch rockets at Israeli towns and attack Israeli troops.)
Razania also divulged details on Hamas’ recent activity, including their focus on developing tunnel infrastructure.
“[Razania] supplied a good deal of information on the location of tunnels and their routes in northern Gaza, as well as Hamas’ tunnel digging methods,” the Shin Bet said in a statement.
“The information that came forward in the Shin Bet investigation reveals the use of civilian buildings to advance terror activities and is another example of Hamas and other terror organizations in Gaza violating international laws,” the agency continued.
“The information collected in this investigation, as well as from other Hamas operatives arrested over the past year, shows the effort Hamas is going though in order to prepare for a military confrontation with Israel.”
On Sunday, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal warned that the Gaza-based terrorist group “is smuggling weapons and digging tunnels in Gaza to prepare for a confrontation with [Israel].”
The Israel Defense Forces said earlier this month that Hamas is intensifying efforts to surveil Israeli communities by the Gaza border, which the military believes will be targeted for kidnapping attacks in the event of a future conflict.
[Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib / Flash 90 ]