Special to WorldTribune.com

GAZA CITY — Gazan militias, despite a 50-day war with Israel, were said to have retained their missile and rocket arsenal.

A leading Palestinian militia commander said the missile and rocket stockpile in the Gaza Strip was far from depleted. The commander said Hamas, Jihad and other Palestinian forces maintained weapons production amid heavy Israeli air strikes.

“As for the [rocket] stockpile, we have used less than 10 percent of what we have,” Abu Tariq, commander of the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, said.

In an interview with the Al Akhbar daily on Aug. 25, Abu Tariq, a nomme de guerre, said the Palestinians maintained the smuggling of raw material to sustain missile and rocket production. He said Israeli intelligence failed to find most production facilities.

“With every rocket we launch, there will be one to replace it, because our manufacturing unit has not stopped producing rockets whether during the truce or under bombardment,” Abu Tariq said.

The Israeli military, which reported the firing of 4,564 projectiles, has asserted that the Palestinians lost more than 70 percent of its missile and rocket arsenal, including those with a range of up to 160 kilometers.

Over the last week, Hamas and its militia allies fired up to 170 missiles, mortars and rockets per day.

The Popular Resistance Committees was regarded as the third largest force after Hamas and Jihad. PRC, an offshoot of Hamas and trained by the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah, was believed to contain up to 3,000 fighters and claimed development of short-range missiles.

“The development unit in the [PRC] brigades is resolved that no matter the cost in blood or money to develop our rocket capabilities, we will not stop,” Abu Tariq said. “In addition to locally-manufactured rockets, we use tunnels to bring in weapons and raw materials for manufacturing.”

  Abu Tariq, Gaza militia leader claims 90 percent of missile arsenal intact, Popular Resistance Committees