"A senior Israel Defense Forces officer said Thursday that in the past two years Hamas has made a significant leap in the level of sophistication of the arms it is smuggling into Gaza, which he said has reached "import" dimensions.
The officer said Hamas has been able to smuggle in a large quantity of weapons primarily because the border with Egypt has been completely porous following the militant group's takeover of the Gaza Strip.
"Hamas has jumped light years in its capabilities since Israel withdrew from Gaza two years ago," the official said. "Now that Hamas controls Gaza, it is even easier for the group to smuggle weapons across the Egyptian border," he continued.....
The officer said that Israel and Hamas are on a "collision course" in the Gaza Strip, adding that Israel does not have unlimited time to deal a serious blow to Hamas' strengthening in the Strip.....
Hamas rejected the assessment. "This is not true," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said. "They want to use this as a pretext to tighten the siege on Gaza."....."
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