Is Hamas on the offensive or defensive?
Hamas believes that Israel will attack the Gaza Strip again at some point, which is why it keeps arming itself and developing its rocket project.
In a briefing for the Israeli press April 14, a senior officer in the Southern Command reported that Hamas is busy rehabilitating its military strength. According to him, ever since the 2014 Operation Protective Edge, Hamas has been increasing its Nokhba (elite fighting unit) forces to 5,000 troops and focusing on the development of high-trajectory short-range rockets, which proved to be more efficient than the Grad rockets shot down by the Israeli air defense system Iron Dome.
“Hamas is a highly intelligent enemy. They surprise me and learn their lessons very quickly,” said the senior officer by way of summary.
