IDF busts Hamas maritime rocket smugglers

The Israeli army announced it arrested a group of Gaza-based smugglers using boats to ferry rocket-making materials from Egypt to the Strip.

By World Israel News Staff

On Friday, the IDF released video showing a sting in which it caught four Palestinians embarking on a run to Egypt to bring rocket manufacturing supplies back to the Gaza Strip via sea.

The Hamas-orchestrated operation reportedly sought to covertly bring materials like fiberglass using boats, which would have allowed them to avoid inspections that occur at land crossings.

While the IDF arrested the four smugglers in mid-May, the IDF only cleared the information for release this week. The footage below was published late Thursday evening.

כך סוכל ניסיון הברחת חומרים לייצור טילים של חמאס ברצועת עזה. לכל הפרטים: https://t.co/2A3KVjrxjj pic.twitter.com/smPmoOoPsG

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 7, 2019

According the IDF, the Shin Bet-led investigation revealed that the smugglers intended to bring back 24 barrels of fiberglass to Hamas operatives to be used to make missiles.

The arrested Hamas operatives were charged with conspiracy to murder in a terrorist act, training for terrorist purposes, and attempt to provide service to a terrorist organization, in addition to other offenses.

As part of the strategy to destroy the Jewish state, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fire barrages of rockets and missiles form the Gaza Strip at Israeli civilian targets.

In May, these two Palestinian terror groups fired over 700 rockets at Israel, killing four people.

gaza stripHamas smuggling