(Institute for National Security Studies) Col. (ret.) Gabi Siboni - Since the end of the 2014 conflict, Hamas has concentrated on rebuilding its system of offensive tunnels from Gaza into Israel. Its leadership realized that the number of tunnels it had built and the extent to which they were used came as a surprise to Israel. For this reason, the offensive tunnels became a key element of Hamas' fighting doctrine. In the end, the yield from the tunnels during the war was not directly proportionate to the decisive weight Hamas had assigned to them and their potential damage was not fully realized. Hamas will presumably try to surprise Israel again using the tunnels in order to kidnap live soldiers or civilians. Col. (ret.) Gabi Saboni, former commander of the Golani Brigade's reconnaissance unit, is director of the Military and Strategic Affairs Program at INSS.
2015-05-22 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive