The Islamist-Hamas organization has warned that it has the capability to turn Israeli cities into “ghost towns” with thousands of missiles for an extended period of six months, including the economic center of Tel Aviv. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar made the claims at a rally in Gaza city while touting his organization’s military power, which he boasted is held “in great regard” by Jerusalem.
Sinwar also revealed that despite the ongoing-blockade of Gaza by Israel and Egypt, Hamas has developed a tunnel network “hundreds of kilometers” in length, containing “hundreds of command and control rooms” both “above and below ground;” while adding thousands of additional anti-tank missiles and mortar shells to its weapons stockpiles for the sole purpose of attacking the Jewish State.
The Islamist leader further noted that Hamas utilizes “many secret tools to counter attempts made by Israeli intelligence to infiltrate Gaza.” In response to the threats voiced by Israeli leaders, Sinwar insisted that Hamas will “make them curse the day they were born.”
In addition to his numerous threats, Sinwar claimed that Hamas retains absolute control over the Gaza Strip. He did confess, however, that the Islamist group has been coping with various forms of opposition within the Palestinian enclave.
A senior government official in Jerusalem told TV7 that Israel is nearing a point of no return, in which it will be “reluctantly forced” to launch a wide-scale ground operation in the Hamas-controlled Strip. The source, who asked to remain anonymous as he is not permitted to speak publicly, explained that rogue terror groups operating in the Palestinian enclave are relentlessly acting to undermine the authority of Hamas, which is likely to lose its hold over Gaza in a next military conflagration. That said, the official noted that Jerusalem views the threats posed from Gaza as ‘a mere distraction.’ Both Israel’s defense establishment and political leadership, he said, understand that the most dangerous threat to the Jewish State comes from the Islamic Republic of Iran, which actively aspires to entrench itself militarily on Israel’s northern front in both Lebanon and Syria, as well as farther to the east in Iraq and Yemen.