Israeli officer claims that Hamas drew soldiers into tunnels

A senior Israeli army officer has acknowledged that the Hamas military wing had succeeded in drawing soldiers into the tunnels underneath the border with the Gaza Strip. He said that in this aspect the Al-Qassam Brigades were successful.

Speaking during a conference in Jerusalem, General Uri Jordin said that “Hamas fighters superseded the army as they protected themselves underground. They preferred to draw us inside the tunnels.”

Jordin added that Hamas had learnt from previous engagements and decreased its fighters’ use of electronic communication by which the Israeli army had pinpointed their location during the fighting. He justified the Israeli troops’ inability to win the battle of Gaza by the difficulties encountered in getting information from the field.

The general added that the Israeli armed forces are using the current relative calm to develop their combat fighting techniques. In this, he noted, they are benefiting from operations in the heavily-populated areas of the occupied West Bank.

Al-Qassam Brigades used the tunnels during the Israeli war against the civilians of Gaza last year to launch several successful defensive operations against the invading forces.