Capabilities of Hamas Military Power: Organization, Equipment, and Tunnels
Whenever the possibility of an Israeli ground operation in Gaza emerges, the question arises: what does Hamas possess in the face of one of the most advanced military forces?
Hamas has employed guerrilla warfare tactics over the past three decades in its attacks against Israel, using missiles, snipers, improvised explosive devices, and an underground tunnel network.
Organization and Equipment
According to the American website “Axios,” the number of fighters in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, ranges from 30,000 to 40,000 militants.
It is believed that they have a military arsenal comprising thousands of rockets, including long-range missiles and drones.
Hamas officials have claimed that their fighters also possess a range of grenades and mortar shells.
Based on the videos released by Hamas during their attacks on Israeli towns on October 7th of this year, they used rockets, drones, bulldozers, small trucks, and motorcycles.
In an interview with the Russian channel RT, Ali Baraka, a leader in the Hamas movement, stated, “We have been preparing for this for two years. We have local factories for everything. We have missiles with ranges of 250 kilometers, 160 kilometers, 80 kilometers, 45 kilometers, and 10 kilometers.”
Tunnel Network
Hamas relies on an intricate network of tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip for storing weapons and supplies, training fighters, and establishing bases away from the watchful eyes of advanced Israeli intelligence agencies and beyond the reach of their air forces.
The “Axios” report indicates that Hamas also uses underground facilities for assembling and storing parts of its large arsenal of missiles and launch platforms.
These tunnels could allow Hamas to set up ambushes and evade detection if Israel proceeds with its plans for a large-scale ground operation.
The field evidence of Hamas, obtained by The Washington Post and other documents found in the aftermath of the brutal attack launched by the group on Israel two weeks ago, revealed some of their military capabilities and preparations for close-quarter killing.
Evidence on a Corpse
Last week, the American newspaper The Washington Post discussed a field evidence of Hamas, stating that it had obtained, along with documents found in the aftermath of the group’s attack on Israel on the 7th of this month.
The newspaper noted that the documents revealed Hamas‘s military capabilities and preparations for close-quarter killing.
The evidence, dating back to last year and found on the body of one of Hamas’s fighters, includes instructions on operating specific weapons, identifying weaknesses in Israeli military equipment, and offering advice on knife killings.
The first page of the document reads, “This is a secret military document,” and “it must remain in a secure location, and it is forbidden to move it without orders.”
Michael Milstein, former head of the Palestinian Division in the Israeli Army, and other experts told the American newspaper that “the evidence appears to be genuine and matches a set of other documents collected by the Israeli forces after the attack.”
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office verified 17 pages of the documents for The Washington Post.
Other Hamas documents included maps and detailed plans for attacking several individual kibbutzim around Gaza, including the intent to kill and abduct civilians.
The document obtained by the newspaper provided guidance on operating weapons that they were known to possess and presented a detailed description of the weaknesses of Israeli tanks and armored vehicles.
This included instructions, for example, on using rocket-propelled grenades of the North Korean F-7 model, which Pyongyang denied supplying to Hamas.
The Israeli forces found approximately 50 highly explosive ammunition in the aftermath of the attacks, according to the army, which presented some of the materials found. Hamas has not commented on all of this information.
