Officials said Hamas sustained significant losses in January 2008. They
said several commanders were among the more than 50 Hamas and Islamic Jihad
casualties in Israeli air and ground strikes over the last two weeks.
Harb was said to have been driving with his aides when an Israeli
air-to-ground missile struck the vehicle. Harb and a deputy were killed.
The sources said Harb was responsible for missile and mortar strikes
from the southern Gaza Strip into Israel. They said Harb was also identified
as a key Hamas liasion with smugglers who operate an estimated 200 tunnels
that link the Gaza Strip to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Israel has acknowledged the death of Harb. An Israeli military source
said Harb planned Hamas attacks inside Israel, including a raid on an
Israeli military base in which a soldier was captured on June 2006. The
soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, remains in captivity.
The Hamas commander also brought
bulldozers to widen breaches in the wall to enable more than 700,000 Gazans
to enter Sinai. Egypt has failed to close the border.
Officials said Hamas's military has been planning an attack from either
the Gaza Strip or West Bank. They said the operation could include a suicide
bombing in a major Israeli city as well as the abduction of Israeli soldiers
or civilians.
Hamas has sent hundreds of operatives to the Sinai Peninsula to prepare
for attacks in southern Israel, including the cities of Eilat and Beersheba.
Officials said former Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar
has been urging Hamas to commandeer an Israeli school or hospital.
"There is a danger of terrorists trying to enter Israel [from Sinai]
along with infiltrators from Africa," Israeli Public Security Minister Avi
Dichter said.
On Jan. 24, two Hamas operatives, dressed as security guards, stormed a
Jewish school in a kibbutz south of Bethlehem. The operatives, wielding a
gun and knife, were overpowered and killed by Israeli counselors at the
school. Three of the counselors were injured.
Officials said Hamas commanders Ahmed Jabari and Mohammed Deif were
believed to be planning the assault. They said Jabari and Deif were working
with Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees to conduct one or several
attacks.
So far, at least 20 Hamas and Jihad insurgents were captured in the
Sinai. Officials said the Palestinians were found with explosives and radio
interception equipment to monitor Egyptian security forces.
Israel's military has been focusing operations on the southern Gaza
Strip. On late Sunday, the Israel Air Force struck Hamas armored vehicles,
and four fighters were injured.
The sources said Harb was a
regional commander of Hamas's new military and responsible for Rafah,
located along the border with Egypt.
