The CIA is concerned with Hamas's leadership, US officials say
The CIA is gathering information on senior Hamas leaders and the location of hostages in Gaza, and providing that information to Israel as it wages its war in the enclave, US officials said.
A new task force formed in the days after the October 7 Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and took some 240 hostage in Gaza, has uncovered information about Hamas' top leaders, according to US officials who spoke . on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence assessments.
Immediately after the October 7 attack, national security adviser Jake Sullivan sent a memo to the intelligence community and the Defense Department recommending the creation of the task force and ordering greater intelligence collection on Hamas's leadership, they said officials.
The creation of the task force has not created new legal authorities, but the White House has increased the priority of intelligence gathering on Hamas.
It is not clear how valuable the information has been to Israel, although none of Hamas's top leaders have been captured or killed. The United States does not provide Israel with intelligence on low- and mid-level Hamas operatives.
Israel had estimated before October 7 that Hamas had 20,000 to 25,000 fighters. By late 2023, Israel had told U.S. officials that they believed they had killed about a third of that force.
Some U.S. officials believe that targeting low-level Hamas members is misguided because they can be easily replaced and because of the unwarranted risk to civilians. They have also said that the Israeli military bombing campaign in Gaza – that about 23,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Ministry of Healthmainly civilians – could eventually supplement Hamas fighters.
But eliminating Hamas' strategic military leadership is another matter. Israel would score a major victory if it kills or captures Yahya Sinwar, believed to be the architect of the October 7 attack, or Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hamas's military wing. Such operational success would likely give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu more leeway among the Israeli public to conclude the military campaign in Gaza.
Targeting Mr Sinwar is not just a matter of finding him. According to US officials, Mr Sinwar is believed to be hiding in the deepest part of the tunnel network under Khan Younis in southern Gaza. But it is also believed that he is surrounded by hostages and using them as a human shield, greatly complicating any military operation to capture or kill him.
The United States provided no intelligence for Israel Strike on January 2 in a suburb of Beirut killing Saleh al-Arouri, a deputy Hamas leader, U.S. officials said. That attack was based on information collected by Israel about Mr al-Arouri's location.
The United States has also stepped up collection against Hamas with more drone flights over Gaza and increased efforts to intercept communications between Hamas officials.
A CIA spokeswoman declined to comment on the task force or any information provided to Israel.
The creation of the CIA task force comes at a time when US spy agencies have increased the priority of intelligence gathering on Hamas.
Before the October 7 attack, Hamas was a level four priority, meaning few resources were devoted to gathering intelligence on the group. Since then, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which helps oversee intelligence community priorities, has elevated Hamas to a Level 2 priority, according to U.S. officials. Level one, where the vast majority of intelligence resources are spent, is reserved for international adversaries who could pose a more direct threat to the United States, including China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.
Increasing the priority level will provide additional funding for intelligence gathering and will likely increase the reach and amount of information the CIA is trying to gather on Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States.
The shift in priority has also freed up new money for the CIA to develop human resources, according to current and former officials. But because both physical access and regular communication with Gaza are extremely difficult, developing new resources will take time.
The US military has pushed Israel to reform its military campaign and focus on killing or capturing top leaders, rather than the broader attacks that have resulted in huge numbers of civilian casualties in Gaza. Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, has visited Israel at least twice since Oct. 7, and other U.S. generals have gone to Israel to advise officials there to adopt a more targeted plan aimed at killing senior leaders .
Before October 7, the United States generally relied on Israel to gather most intelligence on Hamas, according to U.S. officials.
For Israel, Hamas was a much more significant threat and therefore a top priority of the intelligence services.
But the October 7 attack showed that Israel's intelligence collection on Hamas had significant weaknesses. US officials have also raised questions about what Israel shared with the United States.
In 2022, Israel collected intelligence showing that Hamas had developed an elaborate plan for a multi-wave attack on Israel, codenamed Jericho Wall. But the information was not shared widely within Israel or with the United States after some Israeli intelligence officials judged that the plan was ambitious and that Hamas was unable to carry it out at the time.
Locating the hostages and developing information about their physical and mental status is also a priority of the new task force. William J. Burns, the director of the CIA, worked with David Barnea, the head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, to negotiate their release.
In November, 109 hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a lull in fighting thanks to American, Qatari and Egyptian mediation. About 130 hostages are believed to be trapped in Gaza. The United States and Israel hope for a new exchange, but Hamas has insisted that further hostage releases will only take place in connection with a permanent ceasefire.
The United States has not negotiated directly with Hamas. Instead, Mr. Burns and Mr. Barnea have spoken with Qatari officials, who in turn are negotiating with Hamas's political leaders. Israel does not appear to be targeting Hamas's political leaders, who are crucial to hostage release negotiations.
US Special Operations Forces, who were in Israel for training exercises before October 7, have remained there to work on the hostage issue.
The FBI and Justice Department have also stepped up their efforts against Hamas by investigating Americans who sent money to the group.