The air operation that Hamas used to infiltrate Israel without being detected

When Hamas launched its deadly attack against Israel On Saturday, the invasion included fighters who parachuted into the Gaza border.

The so-called “Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades” – the military wing of the Islamic movement – ​​attacked participants at a music festival in southern Israel and in Israeli cities near the border with the Gaza Strip. They called the surprise operation “Al-Aqsa Storm”.

LOOK: “It’s a massacre”: the bodies found in Kfar Aza, one of the Israeli kibbutz attacked by Hamas

Israeli army spokesman Richard Hecht confirmed that Palestinian fighters They infiltrated by “parachute”, as well as by sea and land..

Photos and video footage were shared on social media showing the Al-Qassam Brigades descending by parachute. This is the first time this tactic is known to have been used in Hamas attacks against Israel.

Hamas fighters managed to land with motorized parachutes at the start of the attack on Israel. (HAMAS).

Aerial crossing over the border fence

Palestinian militants managed to cross the fence separating Gaza from Israel by air using parachutes with seats for one or two people.

Powered by generators with propellerswere directed at targets as they advanced into the territory surrounding the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians entered Israeli territory through a breach in the border fence after armed militants infiltrated areas in southern Israel on Saturday. (REUTERS).

Bottom

Military parachutes are often used to drop army units, with the aim of penetrating enemy lines behind the battlefront.

The parachute teams were first deployed in clashes between Nazi Germany and allied countries during World War II.

Saturday’s Hamas attack recalled the operation in Hang gliding carried out by two Palestinians, a Syrian and a Tunisian from the General Command of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

LOOK: 8 questions to understand why Israelis and Palestinians fight

The men left Lebanon with the intention of attacking an Israeli army site in November 1987.

Take off from the ground

In the Hamas operation, the militants used parachute attached to engines and rudder to direct them, and so they could take off from the ground.

This meant they could fly without needing to climb a hill to propel themselves or be dropped from an aircraft.

The propulsive force of the engine allows the parachute to reach speeds of up to 56 km per hour.

This type of glider parachute can fly for three hours, at an average altitude of 5,000 meters..

They can carry up to 230 kilos of weight – the equivalent of four people – according to specialized websites.

These devices, which open like an umbrella, can have a seat for one person or a stroller that can accommodate two people.

Videos published by the “Military Media” of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades show the gliders taking off from the ground, each piloted by one or two fighters.

Other images show fighters firing from the air, landing and attacking Israeli positions. Some of the parachutes carried fighters on motorcycles.

Hamas called the group of paratroopers that penetrated the separation fence “Saqr Squadron”.

Hamas fighters returned to the Gaza Strip after the attack on Israeli territory. (GET IMAGES).

Why didn’t Israel detect the parachutes?

Videos published by Hamas media show armed paratroopers flying from Gaza under cover of a massive missile attack launched from inside the Strip.

Some of them appear to be flying at low altitudewhile others are seen higher in the sky.

They could be seen with the naked eye in the skies around Gaza.

Israeli media wondered why Israeli army units did not detect them.

The Israeli military has not yet revealed why its air defenses were not alerted by aerial penetration, especially when The parachutes were so obvious that people could film them with their phones.

Missiles launched from the Gaza Strip against the city of Ashkelon are intercepted by Israel’s air defense system, known as the Iron Dome. (EPA).

It is possible that the Israelis were rely too much on technology instead of having patrols in the visual field?

Some reports suggest that Israel’s air defense systems, such as Iron Dome and radars, They were not designed to handle such small flying objects.

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system was designed to intercept rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as occurred in Sderot on October 10. (REUTERS).

Attack on multiple fronts

Hamas began its surprise attack with the launch of 5,000 rocketsaccording to a statement from the commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Muhammad Al-Deif, released on the first day.

Rockets fired from Gaza destroyed vehicles in the Israeli city of Ashkelon. (EPA).

The rocket launch was accompanied by an incursion by Hamas fighters by land and sea, using gunboats, and by air with parachutes.

Media and military reports indicate that the parachute attack and its ability to bypass air defenses were a decisive factor in allowing the penetration of the border.

On the first day, the offensive resulted in Unprecedented heavy civilian and military casualties in Israel.

The fighters took with them more than 100 Israeli civilians and soldiers, who Hamas is now threatening to kill.

Elderly grandparents and minors are among those identified by their families as having been captured by Hamas.

Source: Elcomercio