Operation Protective Edge has shown the Israel Defense Forces that the fighting capabilities of Hamas have grown more sophisticated, due largely to the network of terror tunnels it has constructed beneath Gaza leading into Israeli territory. After Israeli forces captured and interrogated a Hamas terrorist who had been hiding in a tunnel for three weeks, he revealed that Hamas members had also undergone training to execute terrorist attacks from the air. The prisoner told security forces he had been sent to Malaysia to learn how to carry out an attack by paragliding. The prisoner served as commander of a cell in Hamas' Nukhba ("Elite") commando force. He was arrested on July 20 and transferred to the Shin Bet security agency for questioning. He told agents that he had been waiting in the tunnel three weeks for his orders and received only occasional supplies of water and dates. After three weeks, he said, he broke and turned himself in. Interrogators discovered that the unit the prisoner belonged to was planning to employ paragliding techniques to commit a terrorist attack in one of the Israeli communities bordering Gaza. According to the Shin Bet, the prisoner also provided information about instructions to carry out kidnappings that had been handed down to Hamas members when it appeared that the IDF was preparing to enter Gaza, and said that the group had set up anti-tank traps for the Israeli forces. The prisoner even pointed out a sniper's position on the 10th floor of the Red Crescent building in Khan Younis in the southern part of Gaza. The terrorist commander said he had been recruited to Hamas in 2007 and joined the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, where he underwent a short course in how to use a Kalashnikov rifle, including weapons maintenance and shooting practice with live ammunition. The prisoner said he eventually became part of the Hamas guard force, doing one shift a week. He completed additional training courses, which included use of grenades. In 2010, the prisoner was assigned to a special terrorist force that was sent to Malaysia to be trained in using paragliders to penetrate Israeli territory and attack civilians. He said that 10 other Hamas members were trained along with him in paragliding. "The details gained from the interrogation indicate that Hamas made a huge effort to strengthen itself and build itself up. As part of [these efforts,] it built and trained a commando fighting army," the Shin Bet said. "Moreover, and in preparation for ground battles with Israel, Hamas constructed a network of tunnels to be used to attack IDF troops and even kidnap soldiers. Simultaneously, Hamas was working on unique, 'effective' terrorist attacks that would exact a heavy toll, like an attack in Israeli territory using paragliding. All this while receiving aid and training from other countries."
The latest threat from Hamas: Paragliding terrorists
Hamas terrorist says group's commandos trained in Malaysia to learn how to paraglide into Israeli territory and carry out attacks against civilians • Shin Bet: Hamas was building tunnels and planning attacks while receiving aid from other countries.
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