"Guided by Iran and Hizbullah, with operatives in Gaza itself, Hamas
quickly recovered," a senior military source said.
Military intelligence has confirmed the death of Ismail Jabari,
commander of Hamas's special protection unit. The military has not confirmed
reports that Hamas military chief of staff Ahmed Jabari was killed in an
Israeli air strike.
Another senior military commander, Maher Zaqout, was said to have
survived an air strike on his home. On Jan. 1, Hamas senior operative Nizar
Rayan was killed in an air attack on his house in the Jabalya refugee camp.
"Many secondary explosions were identified as a result of the attack,
thus proving that the house [of Rayan] was used for storing weaponry," an
Israeli military statement said. "It was also used as a communications
center. In addition, a tunnel was located under the house and was used for
the escape of terror operatives."
Officials said many military commanders were holed up in hospitals and
pretending to be physicians. They said others were hiding in mosques around
Gaza City and Khan Yunis.
"Many Hamas officials are hiding in mosques throughout Gaza, out of the
assumption that Israel will avoid attacking Muslim houses of worship,"
Israel Security Agency director Yuval Diskin said. "A number of Hamas
operatives hide in hospitals, several of them walking around in uniforms of
doctors and nurses."
The Israeli assessment said Hamas sustained losses of about 1,500
missiles and rockets. The sources said this comprised no more than 15
percent of its estimated 10,000 surface-to-surface weapons, some of which
were capable of striking targets 40 kilometers away. This was said to
include the Iranian-origin Fajr-3, with a warhead of up to 70 kilograms.
During the war, Hamas gunners fired missiles and rockets into
Beersheba, Israel's fourth largest city and the largest in the south. This
marked the first time that Hamas missiles reached Beersheba, with a
population of 185,000 and about 30 kilometers from Israel's nuclear
facility at Dimona.
Many of the extended-range rockets were said to have been manufactured
in China and delivered to Iran. Officials said the missiles that fell into
Beersheba contained a warhead packed with shrapnel that could kill people up
to 100 meters away.
"We are witnessing the expansion of the rocket fire emanating from the
Gaza Strip to a radius of 30-40 kilometers," Brig. Gen. Avraham David,
deputy commander of the Home Front Command said.
Hamas' military was said to have sustained about 300 casualties. But the
sources said this did not harm the overall military infrastructure, which
could recruit more than 20,000 combatants.
The assessment said the Israel Air Force destroyed about 50 tunnels that
spanned the divided city of Rafah. Hamas was said to oversee more than 800
tunnels.
"We are already seeing Hamas rebuild the tunnels," the military source
said.
The military also reported the destruction of Hamas missile factories
and a center for weapons research and development. The R&D center, part of
the Islamic University, was said to have been located in Gaza City and
specialized in missile and explosives.
The sources said Hamas assessed that Israel would not launch a massive
ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. They said the Hamas regime was informed
by such countries as Qatar and Saudi Arabia that the United States was
pressing Israel to limit any response to missile attacks from the Gaza
Strip.
"Hamas managed to reach the brink and succeeded," the source said.