The discovery of the location of the hostages’ bodies in the northern Gaza Strip offered a glimpse into the relentless effort that has been ongoing around the clock since the beginning of the war to locate the hostages that were still held by Hamas.
This effort was led by the Hostages and Missing Persons Unit under the command of Major General (res.) Nitzan Alon coordinated all intelligence information in this field from all security and intelligence agencies and special units and maneuvered ground forces in the Gaza Strip.
Nitzan and the soldiers under his command, with the support of security organizations, were not only engaged in gathering information but also in conducting thorough research, cross-referencing data, and verification, all with a single goal: to help determine the fate of the hostages and locate them in Palestinian territory.
In recent months, significant breakthroughs were made in intelligence gathering in this regard, following the discovery of senior Hamas officials' computers, servers, and thousands of interrogated individuals who provided details, documents, and items found in the field that shed light on the complex questions.
IDF hostage retrieval operations
In practice, after gathering and analyzing intelligence, including cross-referencing data, a comprehensive operational process is conducted. This included examining the location of the hostages and carrying out operations that involved both risk, along the potential to rescue innocent civilians.
Such information was carefully weighed and presented to senior General Staff members and political leaders. In many cases where hostages' bodies were found, considerable determination was required, as terrorists often put significant effort into hiding the bodies.
The IDF made a significant effort to keep the accumulated information highly classified to prevent Hamas and other terrorist organizations from gaining a complete picture of the IDF's capabilities and the information at its disposal.
IDF Spokesperson Brigadier General Daniel Hagari stated last week, shortly after accompanying Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi on a tour of the Rafah area, that field commanders operating in the area indicated that there are hostages in the Rafah area, and the IDF intended to do everything possible to bring them back.
According to security assessments, the IDF's maneuvered in the Gaza Strip exited Khan Younis, and maneuvered in eastern Rafah to create opportunities to build a clearer picture of the hostages and the places where they were held by terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and local clans.