Hamas' missile command, control system 'fully operational' despite war: Israeli media

The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement command and control system is still up and running despite nearly three months of bombardment and ground invasion against the besieged Gaza Strip, Israeli media say after the resistance group's latest missile operation.

“The resistance has not lost its command and control system,” a senior Israeli military analyst at the Walla news website said on Monday after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets at the Occupied Territories just at the start of the New Year. 

“The missile salvos from Gaza prove that Hamas still has a functioning command and control system and that it has capabilities to launch long-range rockets,” Amir Bohbot added.

The analyst noted that it is very difficult to define the areas “cleared” of Hamas fighters because of the large number of underground sites belonging to the resistance group.

He further said that Israel’s challenges in Gaza have remained the same since the beginning of the war, including the issue of captives, as well as Hamas officials, and its infrastructure.

On Sunday, the Israeli military claimed that rocket launches by Hamas had dropped from an average of 75 per day in late November to only 14.

Boaz Golan, founder of Israeli news site 0404, doubted the claim, saying, “Now, Hamas is firing dozens of missiles... It’s time to stop insulting ourselves!”

In a video published on social media, the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said it had fired M90 rockets towards Tel Aviv and southern areas in the Occupied Territories in “response to the massacres of civilians” carried out by Israel.

Israel waged the genocidal war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas carried out the cross-border Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

However, 87 days into the invasion, the Tel Aviv regime has failed to achieve its objectives of “destroying Hamas” and finding Israeli captives despite massacring 21,822 Palestinians, mostly children and women.

ME