The Palestinian terror group Hamas vowed revenge for the killing of terror mastermind Mazen Faqha in a new video released on Wednesday. Threatening and provocative, the video features Israel’s top defense and security officials in the crosshairs of a gun, Ynet reported.
After revealing images of Israeli security leaders — Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman, Mossad director Yossi Cohen, Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Aviv Kochavi, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, and IDF Oz Brigade Commander David Zini — the video warns, “the type of retribution will be in accordance to the act.” A bullet is then seen being placed in the chamber of a gun.
“The enemy uprooted one of our heroes in Gaza,” Hamas official Khaled Meshaal said on Monday in reference to the death of Faqha and other Hamas terrorists who have died in mysterious circumstances recently. “It settled the score with one of our own who was released from prison. It’s an open battle and we, the leaders, accept the challenge.”
A sign was subsequently posted in the Khan Yhounis neighborhood of Gaza with Meshaal’s promise, “challenge accepted,” written on it.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Hamas had produced short-range rockets with much higher explosive power in order to threaten communities bordering Gaza. Another report released last week stated that Hamas is seeking more advanced software to target sites in Israel more accurately.
The IDF assessed in February that Hamas had succeeded in building 15 tunnels into Israel, which could potentially be used to kidnap and harm Israelis.
Although the IDF discovered and destroyed at least 34 tunnels during the 2014 Gaza war, Hamas has been pouring resources into rebuilding its terrorist infrastructure. The group is believed to spend some $40 million of its $100 million military budget on tunnel construction and dig around six miles of tunnels every month. A senior IDF official recently told Israel’s Channel 2 news that Hamas had rebuilt its tunnel infrastructure and rocket arsenal to pre-war levels.
Palestinian affairs correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh pointed out last year that Hamas has prioritized building up its terrorist infrastructure over rebuilding Gazan homes, writing, “the last thing Hamas cares about is the welfare of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser, formerly the head of the research division of Israeli military intelligence and later the director general of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, told reporters last May that the tunnels were a sign that Hamas is preparing for another war against Israel. “They definitely invest a lot in making the necessary preparations so that in the next round, [and] when they decide to start it, they will be able to inflict the heaviest damage on Israel, including through those tunnels,” he said.
Hamas killed several Israeli soldiers in 2014 through its use of cross-border tunnels. The IDF explained at the time that Hamas intended to use the tunnels “to carry out attacks such as abductions of Israeli civilians and soldiers alike; infiltrations into Israeli communities, mass murders and hostage-taking scenarios.”
Israel began constructing a $530 million underground barrier along its border with Gaza in September to prevent more Hamas tunnels from breaching Israeli territory. Eisenkot described the barrier as “the largest project” ever undertaken in Israel’s military history.
Veteran Haaretz military correspondent Amos Harel assessed last month that Hamas was fully capable of initiating attacks against Israeli communities near the Gaza border using its network of tunnels.
[Photo: YouTube]