The Shabak combines traditional espionage with advanced technology to penetrate clandestine networks.
By Hezy Laing
The Israel Security Agency, better known as Shabak or Shin Bet, has long been at the forefront of Israel’s fight against Hamas terrorism.
Operating in both Judea and Samaria and Gaza, Shabak combines traditional espionage with advanced technology to penetrate clandestine networks.
Its agents monitor communications, infiltrate cells, and intercept plots before they can be carried out.
Over the years, Shabak has built a reputation for precision intelligence that has saved countless lives.
One striking case occurred in February 2019, when Shabak uncovered a Hamas unit in Gaza attempting to recruit four residents of Judea and Samaria and one Israeli national from East Jerusalem.
The recruits were instructed via coded messages broadcast on Al Aqsa TV.
Shabak detained dozens of youths, including several women, who had been in contact with Hamas handlers.
This operation demonstrated how Hamas sought to extend its influence beyond Gaza, and how Shabak’s surveillance of media and digital channels thwarted the plan.
A second example came in November 2018, when Shabak foiled attempts by Hamas’s military wing in Gaza to establish a terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria.
The network was designed to carry out severe attacks inside Israel, coordinated against the backdrop of border clashes in Gaza.
Shabak’s intelligence revealed the scope of the operation, which differed from previous efforts in its ambition and potential risk.
By exposing the infrastructure early, Shabak prevented what could have been a wave of mass-casualty attacks.
Most recently, in June 2025, Shabak announced the arrest of more than 60 Hamas operatives in Hebron, the largest anti-terror crackdown in a decade.
Working with the IDF and police, Shabak uncovered firearms, grenades, and evidence of surveillance training.
The operatives were accused of planning major attacks.
The arrests dismantled a significant Hamas infrastructure in the Hebron area, underscoring Shabak’s ability to penetrate deep into hostile networks.
These cases illustrate the breadth of Shabak’s methods: monitoring television broadcasts, intercepting communications, and deploying undercover agents.
By combining human intelligence with advanced surveillance, Shabak has consistently disrupted Hamas’s attempts to expand its reach.
With thousands of arrests across Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, and seizures of weapons caches, Shabak remains Israel’s most critical line of defense against terrorism.
