Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, October 28th 2019
Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, October 28th 2019REUTERS:

The targeted assassination last month of one of Islamic Jihad’s top terrorists in the Gaza Strip has rattled terrorist leaders in the coastal enclave, sources in Gaza claim, leading them to avoid public appearances and take extra precautions to avoid possible targeted strikes.

On November 12th, Israeli aircraft struck at the home of Baha Abu al-Ata, the 42-year-old chief of Islamic Jihad’s Al Quds Brigades’ Gaza Strip branch.

Abu al-Ata and his wife were both killed in the strike, which sparked two days of fighting between Israel and the Islamic Jihad terror organization.

But Hamas, the largest terror group in Gaza which has effectively ruled the Strip for over a decade, sat out the fighting, avoiding direct clashes with Israel.

Since then, Channel 12 reported, citing sources in the Gaza Strip with personal knowledge of the changes in Hamas leaders’ policies, senior terrorists from Hamas have changed their daily routines in the wake of Abu al-Ata’s elimination.

Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas official in Gaza, for example, has lowered his public profile since the November 12th airstrike, making few public appearances.

“Since Baha Abu al-Ata’s elimination, Sinwar has barely been seen at public events,” one source in Gaza said. “Sinwar doesn’t make speeches, doesn’t make appearances – he’s disappeared.”

“There are rumors that he’s gone down into a bunker, fearing that Israel could eliminate him as well if there isn’t a [cease-fire] deal. As far as the terror leaders see it, the policy of targeted killings is back in force, and they are under a lot of pressure.”

Sinwar and other top Hamas officials are reportedly changing cell phones more frequently, and sleeping in different safe houses to avoid possible airstrikes.

“They’re afraid that they could be located, they know that Israel has the ability to get to anyone at any time.”

“Al-Ata’s elimination has created hysteria among Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders,” another source in Gaza claimed.