Illustrative. Israeli forces keep guard at the scene of what the Israeli military said is a ramming attack near Hebron, in the West Bank, August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma

i24 News – The Shin Bet security agency said on Sunday that it had thwarted one of the biggest Hamas networks in years, arresting more than 60 operatives and seizing 22 weapons of various types.

After the raid in the Hebron area of the southern West Bank, the Shin Bet said that the operatives planned to perpetrate terrorist attacks “in the immediate future.” In addition, the operation solved a shooting attack that occurred at the Bani Naim junction 15 years ago, during which four Israelis – Yitzhak and Tali Ames, Kochava Even Haim, and Avishai Schindler – were murdered.

Some of the weapons seized were confirmed to have been used in the Jerusalem checkpoint attack in November, 2023, during which Corporal Avraham Patna was slain.

The operation lasted three months and was conducted jointly between the Shin Bet, Israel Police, and the Israel Defense Forces. A Shin Bet official called it “the largest and most extensive investigation case” in a decade.

Most of the senior Hamas officials arrested had been previously imprisoned, the Shin Bet said, and had “worked to recruit, arm, and train additional Hamas operatives, residents of the area, in order to carry out shooting attacks and IEDs against Israeli targets.”

As part of the training, the recruits trained to use weapons, including at shooting ranges, collected intelligence, and produced and assembled bombs. They were organized into approximated 10 terrorist cells.

The large-scale raid yielded 22 weapons seized, along with the arrest, as well as 11 grenades and large stockpiles of ammunition. The operation also discovered an underground hideout where the weapons and munitions were stored, which was also used to hide wanted terror suspects.