The IDF released information Friday that indicated the pace of weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip was increasing. A senior army officer said terror groups were arming at an "unprecedented" pace, Channel 2 reported, and some officials were calling for a re-evaluation of the IDF's strategy in Gaza. Despite intense IDF activity along the security fence in recent days and non-stop air strikes on Gaza weapons depots, | Terror groups have been importing more than two tons of TNT per month through tunnels burrowed under the Philadelphi corridor along the Egyptian border. |
Aside from the usual merchandise of explosives, light weapons and ammunition, some 20 advanced anti-tank missiles have found their way into Gaza - a development the IDF has feared since the end of the war in Lebanon, officials said. Several anti-tank missiles have been fired at troops and vehicles in the army's latest forays across the security fence. In two separate incidents Friday, Palestinians targeted tanks operating in Khan Yunis, but failed to inflict casualties.
Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin warned in July that the situation in Gaza could in two to three years be similar to what Israel faced in Lebanon if significant changes were not made on the ground. Diskin emphasized the need to block the smuggling routes into Gaza and said Palestinian terror groups could try to emulate the model of guerilla warfare employed by Hizbullah. Many of the casualties suffered by the IDF in Lebanon were inflicted by anti-tank missiles.