Meanwhile, Israeli military sources said Hamas combatants in the Gaza Strip have
been equipped with U.S. night-vision systems, Middle East Newsline reported. They said the systems were
purchased from Western suppliers via eBay through Arab middle-men.
"Some of the equipment comes from the United States and was probably
purchased through commercial channels," a military source said.
[On Thursday, United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon ordered an
investigation into the firing of Kassam-class, short-range missiles from a
UN school. The school was located in Beit Hanoun, about three kilometers
from the Israeli border.]
The military sources said Hamas combatant squads employed night-vision goggles in
reconnaissance and commando operations against Israel's military in the
eastern Gaza Strip. They said the night-vision systems facilitate a rapid
Hamas response to Israeli military incursions.
The Hamas night-vision systems were recovered in nightly battles with
Israeli elite units in a three-kilometer zone from Israel. One system was
identified as a high-performance night-vision monocle that could be
installed on a helmet or weapon.
"It's available on the Internet, you can order it from eBay and have it
sent to an Arab country and then smuggle it to Gaza," an Israeli
intelligence officer told the Israeli daily Haaretz.
The sources said the night-vision systems were believed to have been
smuggled from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. They said the volume of smuggled
weapons, missile components and other military systems increased over the
last six months in what appeared to mark cooperation between Hamas and
Egyptian border units.
The U.S. House of Representatives has introduced legislation that would
withhold $200 million in U.S. military aid to Egypt unless it improved
security cooperation with Israel. Egypt has asserted that arms smuggling
into the Gaza Strip — estimated at $20 million per month — was enabled by
corrupt Israeli officers.