Since the killing of Hamas's Chief of Staff, Muhammad Deif, there have been numerous reports of the elimination of many other senior officials. Unlike the early months of the war, it seems that as time has passed, reaching senior Hamas figures in the Strip has become easier, and Israel has managed to impose a heavy price on the terror organization's command structure in the Strip.
According to the Saudi newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat," the reason Israel is able to reach senior figures in the Strip relatively easily is because of its operations against the tunnels, which forced the senior officials to come above ground. Additionally, the activity against the tunnels in Gaza led to a breakdown in communication between the commanders hiding in them and the operatives in the field.
According to a report in the newspaper 'Israel Hayom,' sources told the Saudi newspaper that "at the beginning of the war, Hamas had significant capability to provide full security to its senior officials at various levels within the tunnels and to move them from one tunnel to another through a complex network of long and deep tunnels. Even above ground, moving between secure hideouts was easier than the current situation. Therefore, Israel was unable to reach most of the leadership.
However, as time went on and more tunnels were destroyed, it became more difficult for senior Hamas members." The sources noted that Israel's move caught Hamas's senior officials unprepared: "It was not expected that Israel would launch such a large and prolonged ground operation. This allowed Israel to access more tunnels, which led to many senior Hamas figures being forced to leave them and seek safer places above ground."
They further added that "despite the fact that some tunnels were not damaged and remained intact, the destruction or damage to other tunnels caused a disruption in communication. In some tunnels, the air supply system located inside the control and command rooms was damaged. This is what happened in the tunnel where Rafiq Mushtaha and Samah Siraj were killed."
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