Jerusalem: The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday that their preliminary reviews showed Hamas had some 20 vehicles disguised to appear as Israeli, which were used to transport terrorists into Israel at the start of their murderous attack, Israeli media reported.
Among the vehicles used by the terrorists were some that were marked as belonging to senior Hamas commanders, large Savannah vehicles for transporting numbers of terrorists, at least eight off-road motorcycles that were among the first to breach the border and take control of IDF bases, and between five and six pick-up trucks for further incursions, Ynet News reported.
The terrorists used vehicles disguised as Israeli police cars, with which they planned for incursions further or attempted to reach deeper into the country. These vehicles were fitted with blue police lights, the report said.
In one case, a vehicle belonging to Hamas terrorists was captured by the IDF with a French tourist who had been abducted from a rave in southern Israel, hidden in its cargo compartment. It’s still unclear how many more vehicles Hamas managed to take back into the Gaza Strip, but its success was so great that it managed to capture at least three armored IDF jeeps equipped with advanced communication equipment.
Most of the weapons and military equipment with which Hamas forces infiltrated weren’t utilised, as the terrorists were killed beforehand.
For example, at the music festival, security forces found dozens of claymore mines, hundreds of filled ammunition clips, and dozens of Soviet-made hand grenades. This led forces to believe that Hamas had planned to kill many more Israelis, Ynet News reported.
This, however, wasn’t the final goal of Hamas’ operation. During the incursion’s early hours, Hamas forces set up roadblocks with their pick-up trucks at key junctions in areas surrounding southern Israeli communities, which hindered the forces moving into settlements where the major massacres occurred.
IDF and police forces had to engage in prolonged battles with the terrorists who blocked intersections. At each such roadblock, the terrorists were at an advantage and had several anti-tank units to target armored vehicles trying to reinforce Israeli security forces, the report said.
Hamas’ elite force consisted of 60 terrorists, and after they reported their success in seizing IDF positions and Israeli settlements, a significant number of around 600 additional terrorists spread out to other locations in the south.
The exact figures are still unknown to the IDF since hundreds of terrorists may still have to be dealt with, but the military estimates that the numbers may rise, considering the number of vehicles they used, Ynet News reported.
(IANS)
