As the Israel-Hamas war drags on in Gaza, which has been mostly leveled, the leaders of the Palestinian militant group have gone underground. Many outsiders are curious about how they communicate with one other and the outside world, especially the group’s leaders in exile and mediators.
Securing communication is a major dilemma for Hamas leaders and commanders on the ground, as Israel continues its war campaign with the aim of crushing the group and releasing more than 100 hostages. Israel has vowed to hunt down Hamas leaders, especially the group’s chief in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and the commander of its military arm, Mohammed Deif.
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Four months into the war, neither goal has been met, although Israel established itself as a global powerhouse of surveillance. Israel is believed to be using employing its technologies — and those of its Western allies — to locate and hunt down Hamas leaders in the war-wrecked enclave. Experts say Gaza is an open book for Israel’s intelligence agencies, which has sophisticated tools that closely monitor the besieged strip.
Communications are crucial for Hamas leaders to take military and political decisions, especially indirect negotiations with Israel on a potential cease-fire and hostage deal. The negotiations have reportedly gained momentum in January amid growing calls for a cease-fire, with an Israeli proposal suggesting that Hamas leaders relocate to a third country.
Israel has reportedly proposed a two-month cease-fire during which more than 100 hostages held by Hamas would be released in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. According to the proposal, top Hamas leaders in Gaza would be allowed to relocate to other countries.
Hamas has repeatedly insisted that no more hostages will be released until Israel ends its offensive and withdraws from Gaza. Israel’s government declined to comment on the talks.
Secret system
The Saudi-owned, London-based daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on January 22 that Hamas leaders use a secret communications system that began with a private landline system, before they resorted to hand-to-hand written messages. According to unnamed sources, the leaders of Hamas and its military arm, the Qassam Brigades, used a secret communications system built by the group’s engineers in 2009.
The technology used to develop the system was likely smuggled via the group’s network of tunnels. The Qassam Brigades installed underground lines connected with old landlines in certain points across Gaza. Hamas used to examine the system regularly to prevent potential breaches. Each Hamas political or military leader has his own contact point with a specific number that is used for emergency communication, the sources told Asharq al-Awsat.
Israel's failed attempts
Israel is aware of the system and has unsuccessfully tried to hack it multiple times. It blew up a communication point in central Gaza in May 2018 after booby-trapping the point. Several Hamas engineers, who were trying to uncover a security breach, were killed in the explosion.
In November 2018, an Israeli commando force attempted to breach the system but was spotted by Hamas fighters east of Khan Younis, Gaza’s second largest city. Two Israeli commandos were killed as the force was trying to flee Gaza under Hamas fire.
In some cases, Hamas contacts trusted people, unaffiliated with the group, outside Gaza to deliver messages to officials in exile.
Hamas appears to have maintained communications through the system in the first weeks of the war, although Israel struck some points and destroyed tunnels where main communications points were located. Hamas leaders discussed and decided on the November cease-fire late through the system. At the time, Hamas engineers managed to restore communications at some points damaged in the war, Asharq al-Awsat reported.
The sources said Hamas and Qassam leaders in Gaza negotiated the truce through their communications system. They then assigned trusted persons to convey their position to Hamas leaders outside Gaza through several methods, including internet-linked electronic chips and encrypted programs that Hamas had purchased from abroad. In some cases, Hamas contacts trusted people, unaffiliated with the group, outside Gaza to deliver messages to officials in exile in Doha and Beirut.
Hamas used a private internal communications system to communicate with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, another militant group. This likely explains the joint handover of hostages during the November truce when militants from Qassam Brigades and Saraya al-Quds, Jihad’s military arm, together accompanied the released hostages, Asharq al-Awsat reported.
Old methods
When fighting resumed, Israel attacked Hamas in central and southern Gaza after leveling Gaza City and the northern parts of the strip. Hamas reportedly lost many posts and tunnels designated for communications in Khan Younis and central areas. That forced Hamas leaders to resort to old communication tools and methods. Trusted persons, unknown to the public, deliver handwritten messages among the leaders. Written messages are conveyed to people who have contact with the group’s leadership abroad, who need approval from inside Gaza before taking any decisions related to the war, the sources said.
Hamas insists no more hostages will be released until Israel ends its offensive and withdraws from Gaza.
Hamas and Qassam Brigades leaders in Gaza, namely Sinwar and Deif, have the final say on any cease-fire or prisoner exchange dea. Hamas reportedly rejected an Israeli proposal of a two-month cease-fire during which more than 100 hostages held by Hamas would be released in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. According to the proposal top Hamas leaders in Gaza would be allowed to relocate to other countries.
Hamas insists no more hostages will be released until Israel ends its offensive and withdraws from Gaza. Israel’s government declined to comment on the talks.
Communications among Hamas leaders have raised many questions within Israel’s security establishment which has yet to locate Sinwar or any other top Hamas leader in Gaza despite its technological powers.