Anonymous ID: 11bdbe May 31, 2021, 6:38 p.m. No.13803513   ๐Ÿ—„๏ธ.is ๐Ÿ”—kun   >>3557 >>3650 >>3751 >>3774 >>3857 >>3963 >>4055 >>4111 >>4130

https://www.wsj.com/articles/with-iranian-help-hamas-builds-made-in-gaza-rockets-and-drones-to-target-israel-11621535346

 

Over the past 10 days, Palestinian militants have unleashed one of the most intense attacks on Israel in decades, firing more than 4,000 short-range rockets and deploying a new, explosive drone intended to evade the countryโ€™s Iron Dome air-defense system.

 

Behind this onslaught, defense officials in Israel and security analysts say, is an extensive arsenal built with technical expertise from Iran and growing local skills in arms manufacturing.

 

Israeli military leaders say they have destroyed more than two dozen missile-building factories in Gaza with airstrikes in recent days. But they estimate that the militants still have thousands of rockets left and the technical capacity to begin building more when the fighting stops.

 

As Israel has become more effective at blocking the smuggling of weapons into the isolated Mediterranean strip, Iran has looked for other ways to help Hamas, supplying designs and know-how the militants can use to make rocketsโ€”in some cases cobbled together from common materials such as pipes, castor oil and scavenged spent Israeli munitions.

 

โ€œThe design is Iranian but the production is local,โ€ said Ephraim Sneh, a retired Israeli brigadier general and former deputy defense minister.

 

Speaking to journalists Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of providing the primary backing for Gaza militants in their attacks against Israel. โ€œIf Iranian support is removed, the organizations will collapse within two weeks,โ€ he said.

 

Iran and Palestinian militant groups havenโ€™t kept their security ties secret, with leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad touting their arms cooperation with Tehran. Last week, Gen. Esmail Qaani, head of Iranโ€™s elite Quds Force, called Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to offer moral support, Iranian state TV said.

 

Iranโ€™s diplomatic mission to the United Nations and a spokesman for the military wing of Hamas didnโ€™t respond to requests for comment.

 

Israel and Hamas appear to be edging toward a cease-fire, as pressure mounts from Washington and other foreign capitals to bring the fighting to an end. A halt in hostilities could come as soon as Friday, according to people involved in the discussions.

 

So far, Israeli authorities say, the Iron Dome system has managed to shoot down 90% of the Hamas rockets that posed a threat to Israelis. Still, 12 Israelis, including two children, have been killed in the attacks, Israel says.

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