26 Dec, 2024

Hamas missile command and control system 'fully operational' despite war: Israeli media

By Editor's Desk01 Jan, 20244 mins read 752 views

The command and control system of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas is still functioning despite nearly three months of bombing and ground attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported after the resistance group's latest rocket operation.

"The resistance has not lost its command and control system," an Israeli military expert told the Walla news website on Monday after Hamas fired rockets into the occupied territory early in the new year. Amir Bohbot added: "The rocket launch from Gaza proves that Hamas still has a functioning command and control system and is capable of launching long-range rockets."

According to experts, it is very difficult to identify the areas where Hamas fighters have been "liberated" due to the many underground locations of the insurgents. He went on to say that the challenges facing Israel in Gaza, including the prisoner issue, Hamas personnel, and infrastructure, have remained the same since the war began.

The Israeli military said on Sunday that the number of rockets fired by Hamas had dropped from an average of 75 a day in late November to 14. Boaz Golan, founder of the Israeli news site 0404, questioned the claim: "Now Hamas is firing dozens of rockets... It's time to stop insulting each other!" said.

In a video posted on social media, the militant group Hamas Al Qassam Brigades said Israel fired M90 rockets at Tel Aviv and the occupied southern region "in response to the mass killing of civilians". Israel began its war of attrition against the Gaza Strip on October 7 after Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Storm across the border against the occupying group in retaliation for escalating atrocities against the Palestinian people.

But after 87 days of occupation, the Tel Aviv regime has failed to achieve its goal of "destroying Hamas" and finding Israeli prisoners, despite killing 21,822 Palestinians, mostly children and women. The Institute for the Study of War, an American think tank, reported on October 7 that only three of the Qassam Brigade's 26 to 30 battalions (each with 400 to 1,000 men) were either inoperable or destroyed on a civilian basis.

"Despite its military defeat in the war, Hamas remains resilient and able to rebuild its military capabilities," the US think tank said.