By Owen Ogiagbe
The US spy agency oversaw a new task force assembled whose purpose is to gather intelligence on the missing hostages' whereabouts and has already uncovered information on Hamas's top leaders.
The CIA has been providing Israel information on senior Hamas leaders and the location of the remaining hostages the terrorist organization has kidnapped in Gaza, according to a Friday report by The New York Times citing US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The US hasn't provided Israel with intel on "low or midlevel Hamas operatives," the report said. Additionally, the report cites some of the US officials' belief that targeting low-level Hamas members is "misguided" because "they can be easily replaced and because of the unwarranted risk to civilians." They have also said that Israel's airstrikes in Gaza could end up creating more Hamas terrorists.
The US spy agency oversaw a new task force assembled whose purpose is to gather intelligence on the missing hostages' whereabouts and has already uncovered information on Hamas's top leaders. The task force's creation was ordered by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan immediately after the Hamas massacre on October 7 by sending a memo to the intelligence agencies and Defense Department, according to the report.
One of the task force's priorities is to collect information on the hostages' physical and mental conditions. CIA Director William J. Burns has been working with Mossad head David Barnea for the release of the rest of the remaining of the hostages.
An N12 report on Friday night states that the IDF officially has control of 60% of the entire Gaza Strip.
The IDF has thinned out Hamas in northern Gaza and is moving to carry out raids in certain spots. In addition, the IDF is focusing on increasing military pressure on Khan Yunis, assuming that the loss of control of Hamas will promote negotiations for the release of hostages.
