Another attempt by Hamas to smuggle equipment designated for terror into Gaza was stopped by Israeli security forces.
By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News
Israeli security officials announced Monday that they were successful in apprehending a shipment of diving suits intended for Hamas terror commandos in Gaza.
Customs authorities were examining a shipment listed as as sports uniforms when they discovered it contained 40 scuba-diving suits, which require special import permits because of their use for terror by Hamas naval commandos.
Security officials estimate that the shipment was part of Hamas’s efforts to rearm and rebuild its terror infrastructure in preparation for a new attack against Israel.
Hamas is working extensively to cultivate a naval force, including commandos whose mission is to infiltrate Israel through its beaches.
During Operation Protective Edge last summer, the IDF thwarted attempted infiltration by Hamas terrorists via the sea. Five Hamas terrorists were spotted on their way to a beach on Israel’s southern shores, their final objective being Kibbutz Zikim.
The terrorists, spotted diving from Gaza’s shores, were stopped by IDF infantry who ambushed them on the Israeli side. All the terrorists were killed in the gunfight that ensued. One soldier was lightly wounded.
Judging by the amount of weapons the terrorists were carrying, they likely intended to inflict severe damage to the civilian population of the kibbutz and the surrounding towns.
WATCH – IDF forces thwart the amphibious infiltration attempt:
Israeli security forces have recently experienced several successes in thwarting attempts by Hamas to import materials it uses for military build-up.
In April, an attempt to smuggle weapons-production materials into Gaza was stopped. Smugglers attempted to get 18 tons of special “metallurgical coke” coal, used as fuel in firing furnaces to forge metals, into the Strip for a rocket-production project.
In January, Israeli naval forces successfully intercepted a shipment of materials used for weapons production on its way to Gaza. Hamas was trying to smuggle liquid fiberglass, which is used to manufacture rockets and mortars.
Hamas faces difficulty acquiring weapons of quality because Egypt had established a large buffer zone on its border with Gaza and destroyed the terror group’s smuggling tunnels through the Sinai Peninsula.
Furthermore, Sudan, which had served as a relay point for arms on their way to Gaza, has ceased to do so.
As a result, Hamas is producing domestic-made rockets and stepped up its launching tests, firing them into the sea.