Iron Dome battery
Iron Dome batteryFlash 90

Shabak (Israel Security Agency) and Israel Police have arrested an Israeli citizen with family in Gaza, and a Gaza resident with an Israeli work permit on suspicion of spying for the Hamas terror group.

In the joint operation, Hassin Biari, 30, an Israeli citizen, and Mahmoud Ahmad, 33, a Gazan, were arrested and taken for questioning.

The investigations found that the two were enlisted by Hamas' espionage and terror infrastructure, which operates agents within Israel under the guidance of Gazan terrorists, among them Mahmad Halawa.

The findings showed that during their time in Gaza, the two met with their Hamas operators to receive their tasks, and that later they maintained ongoing secret and operational contact with their operators.

Ahmad's interrogation revealed that he had been enlisted into the espionage infrastructure in 2019, and that as part of his tasks, he gathered information on Iron Dome batteries across Israel, and acted to secretly photograph IDF soldiers at the Central Bus Station in Ashkelon.

The information gathered during the interrogation of Biari, the second suspect, showed that he was enlisted into the espionage infrastructure during the past year, and managed to successfully carry out information-gathering tasks focused on military bases, IDF soldiers, and Iron Dome batteries across Israel.

In addition, Hamas requested that Biari incite the Arab population in Israel against the State, acquire weapons, and carry out a terror attack in Israeli territory.

On Thursday, the Central Prosecutor's Office in the Lod District Court will file an indictment against Hassin Biari, while the Prosecutor's Office for the Southern District will file a parallel indictment against Mahmoud Ahmad at the Be'er Sheva District Court. The indictments charge the two with serious security crimes.