Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip exposed the terror organization as a a de-facto military. In one of his early speeches after retiring as IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, outlined the terror organizations threatening Israel and described both Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist armies.
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From the time he commanded the Gaza Division in 2006 when Hamas abducted then IDF soldier Gilad Shalit from his border area base, and up until his role as the head of the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate, in the early 2000s Kochavi observed the increasing military strength of Hamas and Hezbollah and their process they were undergoing to transform into a proper military.
Rather than dealing with scattered guerrilla cells, the IDF faced platoons, battalions, and divisions which were well-organized and trained, with a clear military hierarchy.
The ongoing war in Gaza revealed that Kochavi was right in his assessment, but also highlighted the gaps in military intelligence about these organizations, that only continued to grow. Just two weeks ago, the IDF and the Shin Bet announced that they had killed the new Hamas Shijaiyah Brigade commander, Emad Qariqa, who replaced his predecessor, Wissam Farhat, who was also killed by troops one week earlier.
Before becoming the new brigade commander, Qariqa was responsible for training Hamas’ anti-tank missile units in the Gaza City Division. This teaches a lot about the change Hamas has undergone in the last 14 years.
In his home in Beit Hanoun, troops discovered a list of dozens of his soldiers, each with designated roles they were given during their training, from snipers to regular soldiers, combat engineering soldiers, and even anti-tank missile operators.
The commander added his notes, highlighting standout recruits who showed potential and recommending their enrollment in officer training courses, similar to those taking place in IDF training battalions.
This revelation came after it was already disclosed that Hamas's airborne unit produced dozens of drones designed as replicas of Israeli drones that had fallen inside the Strip in recent years. This, along with the discovery of Hamas' officer school and headquarters near Jabalia, shows a clear process of the terror organization’s transformation into an army.
In the Strip, IDF soldiers located textbooks for the thousands of Hamas’ anti-tank missile operators. These training manuals provide instructions on specific points to target tanks and how to aim RPG rocket launchers. The IDF recently acted on this information and began implementing countermeasures to protect weak spots on armored vehicles.
The training manual extensively detailed the maintenance procedures for various weapons and military equipment, including the IDF’s armored vehicles. It provided specific information on the differences between types of tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs), and the weapons deployed by them. The manual covered the frequency of maintenance required for IDF equipment and explained the most common malfunctions in various firearms.
The manuals also lists the names of IDF divisions and brigades and outlined their operational purposes. In Khan Younis, soldiers found stockpiles of military equipment and ceramic vests, meant to be supplied to Hamas forces in anticipation of the IDF's ground operation in the Strip.