Hamas: ‘We’re still intact’

January 14, 2009

Hamas demonstration

TEL AVIV – Despite 20 days of intense Israeli bombardment, Hamas’ so-called military capabilities inside the Gaza Strip are still largely in tact, top Hamas leaders claimed to WND.

“We admit our government institutions suffered a big blow, but even the Israelis admit our military capabilities have not been hurt,” claimed Abu Abdullah, considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas’ so-called military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades.

“All bases used to store rockets, munitions, explosives are still there. Our Hamas fighters are still there,” Abu Abdullah declared.

Other top Hamas leaders, including Ahmed Yousef, chief political adviser to Hamas in Gaza, made similar comments to WND.

While the Hamas figures’ statements may be boastful terrorist rhetoric, according to knowledgeable defense sources in Tel Aviv speaking on background, there is validity to the Hamas claims of maintaining an intact military wing.

The Israeli sources, speaking on the eve of cease-fire reports, said unless the Israel Defense Forces launches a large-scale ground offensive to sweep clean Gaza’s terrorist infrastructure, Hamas may emerge from the fighting with a stable militia and a cache of weapons.

During the past 20 days, Israeli air strikes targeted both symbolic Hamas institutions, such as government buildings, and the group’s military infrastructure, including rocket caches, police stations, explosives factories, and about 200 of an estimated 600 smuggling tunnels between Gaza and neighboring Egypt.

Although the IDF will not confirm the percentage of Hamas’ military infrastructure wiped out, defense sources said Hamas lost about 30 percent of its rockets and a sizable portion of the group’s explosives development program.

But the sources said Hamas’ estimated 6,000-man force trained in Hezbollah-like guerrilla tactics is still largely in place along with the majority of the group’s underground bunkers. In addition, 70 percent of its rocket arsenal and most of its weapons caches are well-stored.

The IDF has launched two portions of a planned, three stage assault on Gaza. The first stage was Israel’s continuing aerial bombardment of Hamas targets, which the terror group admits dented its government infrastructure, and which Israeli sources said resulted in some damage to the group’s military capabilities.

The second stage began last week, with some ground troops entering Gaza, taking up peripheral positions in central and northern Gaza and mounting some small offensives within Gaza City and select northern Gaza camps.

But defense sources say to deal a decisive blow to Hamas, the IDF must embark on an extensive, large-scale ground operation that would clean out central and northern Gaza of Hamas’ intact military wing.

Meanwhile, Hamas representatives held a press conference to announce they accepted in principle an Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire agreement to end the fighting in Gaza.

The U.N. and international community largely backs a cease-fire, and Israeli leaders have expressed some support for a truce if certain conditions are met.