Unit 504 of the Israel Defense Forces was called into action shortly after the attack on October 7. According to reports, its Arabic-speaking soldiers interrogated Palestinians, including Hamas terrorists, gave combat troops intelligence, and assisted in exposing terror operations being conducted from Gaza hospitals.
Hospitals are the latest targets of Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza. The Israeli military says that under some of Gaza’s biggest medical facilities in the north, it is unearthing terrorist shaft after terrorist shaft.
Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 attacks, is reportedly hiding deep in a Gaza tunnel, “like a little Hitler in a bunker,” according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is Israel’s top target. Unit 504, an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spy group, has been exposing the “Gaza metro,” the Palestinian military group’s underground network, and blowing the lid off hospitals.
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504 Spy Unit’s extensive ground search
Even though the IDF obtained intelligence through technology and surveillance tools, the Shin Bet was primarily responsible for conducting human surveillance in Gaza. But Unit 504 was put into action right away following the Hamas attack. It doubled its ranks, erected a temporary headquarters in the south, and returned its attention to Gaza. In the past fifteen days, Unit 504 has questioned nearly five hundred Palestinians. Detainees in Gaza are transferred to a jail in southern Israel.
Approximately three hundred people have been grilled thus far, including members of Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and other organizations. According to reports in the Israeli media, they have given information about the locations of weapons depots and Hamas tunnels, as well as details about the methods used by Palestinian terror groups, including the use of human shields.
Videos of the Unit 504 interrogation have been made public by the IDF. There were between 80 and 100 Hamas operatives inside, according to one video that claims to be from a Palestinian at Al-Shifa Hospital. He claimed that terrorists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad wore medical uniforms and conducted activities in the hospital’s emergency rooms.
What is the IDF’s 504 spy unit that has doubled its presence?
Leading the Israeli ground offensive in north Gaza has been IDF Unit 504. According to Israel, this group has been instrumental in revealing how Hamas has been utilizing Gazan hospitals to conduct its violent operations. The primary intelligence organization of Israel, the Mossad, is supported by the Israeli army with Unit 504.
It is one of the most covert groups, with operatives outside Israel. Unit 504 was allegedly involved in Lebanon, while Mossad concentrated on Iran and international terrorism, and Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, had its sights set on the Gaza Strip, which Hamas governs. It also conducts hidden operations in Syria and the enclave.
This espionage-trained group is said to have completed hundreds of top-secret operations, using highly skilled operatives operating covertly and frequently in dangerous situations. As they both deal with intelligence matters on Israel’s border nations, Shin Bet and IDF Unit 504’s work occasionally overlap. But whereas the latter “is known to be able to bring a larger critical mass of operatives and human resources to address a threat or problem,” the former specializes in complex missions.
Employees of this IDF covert unit go through an intense training program that covers firearm handling, hand-to-hand combat, and intelligence-gathering methods. They also receive nine months of Arabic instruction.
During the ground offensive, Unit 504 of the IDF made over 30,000 phone calls, sent over 10 million text messages, and over nine million recorded messages to civilians in Gaza as part of their efforts to evacuate Palestinians from the area. Additionally, the IDF dropped about four million pamphlets alerting Palestinians to the risks associated with remaining in northern Gaza.
