Hamas well-prepared for future conflict
In the year since Israel’s Cast Lead offensive against Hamas, the Gaza-based, Iranian-backed terror group has prepared in earnest for further conflict, acting on lessons learned from the last round.
The latest Israeli assessments say that “Israel is likely to face advanced Iranian weaponry, long-range rockets, large missile silos and dozens of kilometers of underground tunnels connecting open fields with urban centers” in case of a future conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Jerusalem Post further reports:
Since Operation Cast Lead ended almost a year ago, Hamas has increased its weapons smuggling and today operates hundreds of tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor. It has smuggled in dozens of long-range Iranian-made rockets that can reach Tel Aviv as well as advanced anti-aircraft missiles and anti-tank missiles.
Hamas is believed to have a significant number of shoulder-launched anti-tank missiles and 9M113 Konkurs, which have a range of 4 kilometers and are capable of penetrating heavy armor. In addition, Hamas is believed to have today a few thousand rockets, including several hundred with a range of 40 kilometers and several dozen with a range of between 60 and 80 km. Intelligence assessments are that Hamas smuggled the missiles into the Gaza Strip through tunnels, possibly in several components. Iran already supplies Hamas with 122mm Katyusha rockets that are smuggled into Gaza in several pieces and then assembled by Hamas engineers. One of the main lessons Hamas learned from Cast Lead was the need to reinforce its defenses and as a result has invested efforts in digging additional tunnels, which connect open fields with homes belonging to key operatives as well as command centers. The idea is to enable freedom of movement for the operatives between different battlefields, which it found difficult during Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza earlier this year.
Not only has Hamas fortified its position through its weapons smuggling, but it has dug deeper into Gazan society itself in order to make use of human shields. The Post reports that it has increased its use of civilian infrastructure, particularly mosques. It is believed Hamas has taken control of 80 percent of the mosques in the Gaza Strip, using them for weapons storage and command-and-control centers. It is also using large apartment buildings for its command centers, to deter Israeli air attacks in a future conflict.
The Jerusalem Post also reports that
Hamas is hoping to increase the effectiveness of its rocket capability during a future conflict and has created large missile silos.
Hamas has also recently increased its efforts to dig what the idf [Israel Defense Forces] calls “offensive tunnels” close to the border with Israel, which the terror group could use to infiltrate into Israel and kidnap soldiers. These tunnels are believed to be of strategic value for Hamas, which would only use them for large-scale attacks and high-value targets.
Looking at how much Hamas has achieved in less than a year, the obvious question is: What exactly did Israel achieve through its Cast Lead military offensive against Hamas—other than further international condemnation? Surely Israel’s strength was spent in vain, just as prophesied in the Bible.
