[Skybird]

https://www.nzz.ch/international/isr..._x_tr_pto=wapp

It is astonishing how well developed Hamas' infrastructure is in the Gaza Strip and how many weapons the terrorists have stockpiled, says Kobi Michael. The Israeli military analyst works for the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and the Misgav Institute for Zionist Strategy. "Hamas has prepared for a long war."


At the request of the NZZ, the Israeli armed forces say that they have discovered over 30,000 weapons and 1,500 tunnel entrances and routes to date. According to the IDF, 700 rocket launchers have already been destroyed. The figures cannot be independently verified. Before the war, experts assumed that Hamas had over 15,000 rockets. Obviously, not all of them have been found yet: As recently as Monday, the Iron Dome missile defense shield in the south of Tel Aviv repelled projectiles.


According to military expert Michael, what is particularly surprising is the extent to which Hamas was able to produce weapons itself. "We found other places where they produced sniper rifles and rocket launchers." The quantity and quality of the weapons in Hamas' possession dwarf the arsenal of some regular armies in the Middle East, says the military analyst.


The recently discovered rocket factory in the central Gaza Strip was mostly underground, partly under civilian homes. Back in November, the IDF discovered a tunnel entrance in a mosque that led to a rocket workshop.

Underestimate your enemy, and be surprised.