Gaza families face phone threats

Israel's internal security agency, the Shin Bet, has allegedly developed a method to isolate targets in Gaza by threatening their families. The practice involves calling the target's phone and presenting two options. The target can choose to be killed alone or allow a strike on their entire family.

London-based Arabic news outlet Asharq Al-Awsat reported on this method on October 30. The outlet interviewed several Gazans, including faction activists and their relatives. All interviewees described similar phone calls from Shin Bet officers.

The most recent incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon in Khan Younis. Muhammad Al-Bayouk was on the roof of a shelter for displaced people when he received a call. The officer on the line offered him the choice of a drone strike on the shelter, which would kill his family, or a strike on himself if he moved to the roof.

Al-Bayouk selected the second option. An IDF drone targeted him with a small projectile. He was killed on the roof. The shelter below remained intact.

A source told Asharq Al-Awsat that these targets were activists connected to military action. This group is distinct from senior field leaders. Senior leaders are killed in missile strikes or by suicide drones, which often result in higher civilian casualties.

The Shin Bet and the IDF have not commented on the reported practice. The military regularly announces high-profile kills based on Shin Bet intelligence. On October 25, Israeli forces killed Ihab Jamil Abu Taqiya, a Hamas squad commander who held hostages including Noa Argamani and Emily Hand.

The security establishment has not publicly confirmed the use of phone threats for lower-profile targets. The IDF also announced on Monday that it killed four operatives in Gaza strikes on October 25. The victims included two Islamic Jihad members and a Hamas sniper.