Video: Documentation of the killing of Jihad Ghannam, secretary of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Military Council, May 9, 2023 (IDF Spokesman)
Hamas is not intervening in the fighting in a practical and direct manner, a senior political source said on Wednesday. He added that as Israel assessed, "Hamas has no interest in getting into" launching rockets into Israel, in response to the start of Operation Shield and Arrow and the assassination of senior Islamic Jihad figures. "They have a joint war room and that's how Hamas has influence on jihad," he explained, "Hamas doesn't and won't act – but they issue announcements," the senior political source said.
The senior political source continued, "We know that Hamas is not in the business. We see in intelligence when Hamas enters the picture and prepares operationally. This cannot be confused. That's not happening right now." According to the senior political source, Israel had prepared in advance a response to the rocket fire from Gaza, which would target Islamic Jihad's weapons buildup and production capabilities. "We're going to bite into their ability to empower. They will be at the end of this round with lesser capabilities," the senior diplomatic source said.
According to him, Islamic Jihad began firing rockets for lack of choice, after every other attack it tried to carry out failed. "At first they were in shock so they didn't react," the official said. "Then they had a problem because the assassination damaged their ability to command and control. They wanted to carry out a high-quality attack, but everything they tried was thwarted. Now they're stuck. They know that most of their firing will be neutralized."
The political source estimated that the jihad would continue firing until it achieved something it could use as a victory picture, but as time passed, Hamas would pressure it to stop.
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- Operation Shield and Arrow
- Islamic Jihad
- Hamas
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