The air operation with which Hamas infiltrated Israel unnoticed

When Hamas launched its deadly attack on Israel on Saturday, the invasion included fighters parachuting across the border from Gaza.

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

Israeli army spokesman Richard Hecht confirmed that the fighters were Palestinian They infiltrated via “parachute”, but also by sea and land..

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

Aerial crossing over the border fence

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

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Background

Military parachutes are often used to drop army units from the sky, with the intention of penetrating enemy lines behind the battle front.

The parachute teams were first used in the clashes between Nazi Germany and the Allied countries during the Second World War.

Hamas’ attack on Saturday was a reminder of the operation Delta wing executed by two Palestinians, a Syrian and a Tunisian of the General Command of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

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

Taking off from the ground

The militants took advantage of the Hamas operation parachutes linked to engines and rudder to direct them, and so they could take off from the ground.

That meant they could fly without having to climb a hill to propel themselves or be launched from an airplane.

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

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

According to specialized websites, they can carry up to 230 kilograms of weight, which is equivalent to four people.

These devices, which open like a parasol, can have a seat for one person or a cart with a capacity for 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 fighter planes firing from the sky, landing and attacking Israeli positions. Some parachutes carried fighter planes on motorcycles.

Hamas called the group of paratroopers who broke through the separation fence the ‘Saqr Squadron’.

Why didn’t Israel detect the parachutes?

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

Some of them seem 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 have wondered why Israeli army units did not notice them.

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

Is it possible that the Israelis were? being too dependent on technology instead of having patrols in line of sight?

Some reports suggest that Israeli air defense systems, such as Iron Dome and radars, They are not designed to handle such small flying objects.

Attack on multiple fronts

Hamas began its surprise attack by launching 5,000 rocketsaccording to a statement by the commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Muhammad Al-Deif, issued on the first day.

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

Media and military reports indicate the parachute attack and ability to evade air defenses a decisive factor in being able to penetrate the border.

On the first day the offensive resulted in Unprecedented heavy losses among civilians and soldiers in Israel.

The fighters took with them more than a hundred Israeli civilians and soldiers, whom Hamas is now threatening to kill. (JO)