Earlier on Monday, it emerged that Israeli special forces who carried out the audacious rescue of four hostages on Saturday dressed as Gazans and Hamas fighters, according to reports.
The unit, which included women in local attire, entered the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza on Saturday, the Times of Israel reported, citing eyewitnesses who spoke to Arab media outlets.
Palestinian witnesses have described how troops arrived in two vehicles disguised as carrying commercial goods and furniture, according to the Washington Post.
One resembled a truck marked with a brand of dishwashing soap while the other was a white Mercedes loaded with mattresses resembling the belongings of displaced Gazans.
The IDF has previously denied using civilian trucks.
A video from the centre of the camp, verified by the Post, showed a white Mercedes parked next to two ladders resting against the side of a residential building, leading to an upper floor. “Here they have arrived,” said a female voice behind the camera.
A witness named Hussam al-Arouqi, 33, said he saw men in plainclothes and about 10 heavily armed soldiers pouring out of the Mercedes, opening fire and shooting his brother.
Asked on Saturday about reports that operatives had carried out the mission in civilian attire, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari declined to give details of “techniques and ways”, citing operational security.
“But we are doing things that are unimagined and we will keep on doing things that are unimagined and take risks to get intelligence but also to conduct operations in order to bring our hostages back home,” he said.
The four hostages were being held in two separate apartment blocks that had to be raided at precisely the same time, the IDF said.
The rescue was carried out in broad daylight to maximise the element of surprise but also increased the risk of a firefight.
According to Mr Hagari, who was watching the mission in real time on monitors at the Israel command centre, the rescue of Ms Argamani was unimpeded, but the guards in the apartment holding the three men fired at the commando squad, mortally wounding team leader Arnon Zmora.