The Document and Technical Means Collection Unit in the Intelligence Directorate (J2) has been coordinating the collection and examination of Hamas assets since the beginning of the war and the ground operation. The unit is made up mostly of reservists, and its job is to extract intelligence from the assets collected by all the soldiers in the field. The unit analyzes and concludes operational implications, which improve the activity of the soldiers in the Gaza Strip. In this way, the unit assists in the extraction of intelligence and its return to the operational end and, at the same time, helps to maintain the security of IDF soldiers.
Since the beginning of the war, thousands of documents and technical assets were collected by IDF soldiers, which were transferred to the extraction team and contributed critical intelligence. The IDF’s operations in Hamas strongholds and the transfer of assets to the Document and Technical Means Collection Unit for in-depth research add a significant layer to the intelligence assessment from the tactical to the strategic level and enable intelligence insight to return to the operational end. The materials are investigated according to their type and in cooperation with various collection and research bodies in the intelligence community.
Among the documents found is a map of tunnel shafts seized by the 252nd Division in the residence of a company commander in Hamas’ Beit Hanoun Battalion.
A key explaining the map was located and collected by the division at the residence of another operative. With the arrival of the materials to the research team, the important link between the map and the key was created - making it possible to identify the tunnel shafts in the field, of which many tunnel shafts were destroyed.
A Hamas map with tunnel shafts marked on it was acquired by the Document and Technical Means Collection Unit research team, found by the 36th Division in the residence of the accomplice of the Commander of the Shejaiya Battalion, Wissam Farhat. After initial processing in Unit 9900, the information was relayed back to the soldiers in the field, the tunnel shaft was identified near IDF soldiers and was neutralized by combat engineering soldiers.
In addition, a document was seized with the locations of explosives in the area of Beit Hanoun. After the Document and Technical Means Collection Unit’s examination of it, operating forces were directed into the area and neutralized the explosives.
