The Israeli army and the Shin Bet withdrew on Friday their misinformation claim that “very senior” leaders of Al-Qassam Brigades had been arrested during the military operation at Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza.
A day earlier, the Israeli army published pictures of hundreds of Palestinians who it claimed were arrested at Al-Shifa Hospital, but the Shin Bet claimed it could not publish their identities at present.
Among the photos was a photo of Al-Qassam Brigades Operations Commander Raed Saad. However, according to Israeli media reports, the army announced on Friday that Saad had not been arrested.
In a joint statement, the Israeli army and Shin Bet said publishing a photo of Saad as if he were among the detainees was the result of “human error”, and the announcement of his arrest was not intentional misinformation.
“Due to human error, there are several photos in the graphic of terrorists who have not yet been caught but are, according to the information we have, in the hospital and are holed up there,” the statement reads.
The statement denied that the photo collage the Shin Bet published was an attempt at “psychological warfare”, adding that the Israeli forces are continuing their efforts and will provide the identities of all those captured once the operation is over.
According to the Ynet website, the Israeli army predicts that Saad is still present at the Al-Shifa complex, but this is unconfirmed.
Promoting such misleading reports was seen as an attempt by the Israeli army to cover up its massive atrocities and failure to eradicate Hamas during this current war on Gaza. According to Ynet, the arrest of Saad, who is one of the “shadow men” in Hamas’ military wing, would be a “major achievement in the war”, and his arrest or assassination would be a victory to satisfy their people.
So far, over 800 Palestinians have been arrested and more than 170 were killed during Israel’s military operation at Al-Shifa.
The Israeli military operation at Al-Shifa Hospital has been ongoing since late last Sunday night when the Israeli tanks surprisingly cordoned off the place and started to kill and arrest people there.
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