Hamas commanders have issued a “standing order” to their operatives holding hostages that “if they think Israeli forces are coming, the first they should do is shoot the captives,” Israeli officials have told the New York Times.

In a report published two days after the IDF’s daring rescue of four hostages from Nuseirat in central Gaza, the newspaper’s reporting suggests that if other hostages were killed on Saturday, it might have been at the hands of the militants themselves rather than as a result of Israeli airstrikes.

Saturday’s operation in Gaza highlighted the complexity of the rescue operation to retrieve hostages after one IDF soldier Arnon Zmora lost his life in the rescue.

The New York Times reports also revealed that the US military has been deploying surveillance drones over Gaza since the October 7 Hamas invasion and bloodshed in southern Israel.

Citing US officials, “at least six MQ-9 Reapers controlled by Special Operations forces have been involved in flying missions to monitor for signs of life.”

These American drones provide critical information that Israeli drones do not as they cover more territory more frequently for long durations.

While Israel relies on ground-based sensors to map the extensive Hamas tunnel network – an ability drones lack – the infrared radar of US drones has proved pivotal as they “can detect the heat signatures of fighters or other people going into or out of tunnel entrance on the surface,” the report states.

A “small group of hostages” is believed to be held near Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in Gaza. These hostages are being used as human shields, making it more difficult for Israel to target Sinwar.

Hamas is now expected to move additional hostages into the tunnels, out of reach of commando forces. Sinwar himself was initially hiding in the tunnels below Rafah but is now “likely back under Khan Younis,” where an extensive subterranean network exists.