The Palestinian resistance is still capable of launching rockets from Gaza despite months having passed since the war (Reuters - Archive)
Israeli Army Radio said that the Israeli forces are still far from achieving their goal of eliminating the missile capabilities of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), stressing that this mission requires, according to estimates, between one and two years.
The radio reported that many of the rocket launching pads in the Gaza Strip are buried underground, which makes it difficult for Israeli forces to find them.
She added that estimates indicate that Hamas still has about 1,000 rockets so far, most of which are in platforms buried underground.
Army Radio said that the missile batch that targeted the city of Tel Aviv last week was launched from platforms in Khan Yunis that were only 20-30 meters away from Israeli army forces.
The radio reported that a cell affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement is still operating in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, possesses a store of missiles there, and was responsible for a large portion of the shooting operations in the area during the past weeks.
A week ago, the Al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of the Hamas movement - launched a batch of rockets towards Tel Aviv and other cities, despite the passage of about 4 months since the Israeli war on Gaza.
In the same context, Haaretz newspaper quoted Israeli military, media and political sources as saying that reports have increased in recent days about renewed fighting in Gaza City and the northern areas of the Strip, indicating that Hamas and the rest of the Palestinian factions have renewed their ability to move in those areas.
The newspaper added that Hamas is trying to escalate the fighting in these areas, which Israel claims to have tightened control over, so that the movement can demonstrate its organizational and operational capabilities, and at the same time reduce Israeli military pressure on the southern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli occupation forces continue their war on Gaza for the 122nd day, as they face fierce resistance from Palestinian factions on several fronts in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, as well as in the central and northern regions.
Source: Al Jazeera + Israeli press