IDF thwarts Hamas attempt to smuggle rocket-making materials

Israeli security forces are on constant high alert as Hamas works tirelessly to build up its military capabilities in order to attack Israel.

Israeli security forces again were successful in thwarting an attempt by the Hamas terror organization in Gaza to smuggle materials used to produce rockets.

The IDF’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the unit responsible for implementing government policy in Judea and Samaria and vis-à-vis the Gaza Strip, announced Wednesday that its representatives captured a shipment of stainless steel metal plates before Hamas terrorists was able to receive them and use them to build rockets.

A truck with home electronics and spare parts arrived at the Kerem Shalom crossing. Hamas attempted to hide stainless steel metal, which is used to build rockets, inside the goods. A subsequent inspection of the truck by Israeli security officials exposed the smuggling attempt.

“This is not new, but still distressing- Hamas terrorists would rather hurt Israeli civilians than help their own citizens,” COGAT stated.

All the goods in the truck were confiscated and for the first time- so was the truck.

COGAT stated it will battle the “deadly threat of terror with strong measures.”

Israel’s combined security agencies have been successful in thwarting multiple smuggling attempts into Gaza, almost on a daily basis. Many of these smuggling operations have employed imaginative methods, including by sea and via Israel’s postal service.

Since Israel decimated Hamas’ terror infrastructure during Operation Protective Edge, Hamas has been working relentlessly to rehabilitate its networks and replenish its weapons stockpiles, and has attempted to smuggle everything from gun scopes to entire trucks.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News