The Israeli army has thwarted the infiltration of Hamas submariners in an operation in which several members of this Islamist militia have been killed. The command, to arm itself, had recovered explosives from a World War II wreck. He was trying to penetrate the Zikim area by sea, in an attack like the one on October 7.
According to Israeli Government Defense sources, the group was intercepted and several militants were killed. It is not yet clear if others remain in the area, where alarms have been sounding late into the night.
Hamas, in its methodical preparation, has created a naval unit equipped with speed boats and divers. Not an easy task given the blockade imposed by Israel and monitored with patrol boats, drones and planes. However, the guerrillas have tried to overcome the defenses and approach an army base by surprise.
The buyers of the material on behalf of Hamas acquired it in Europe while the instructors perfected the tactics. The gunners, for their part, resorted to inventiveness, using submariners for a special mission: recovering explosives from a World War II wreck. The bombs were brought ashore, dismantled, and then the material was recycled to make rockets.
In 2018, three commandos were killed after having managed to reach the beach, possibly using underwater “scooters”. The previous year, Hamas had published a propaganda video dedicated to unity titled ‘The Road to Zikim’, the same place that was the scene of the latest incident.
There is a tradition of attempts by the Palestinian resistance to use the seafront. One of its precedents took place at the end of May 1990, when a group of militiamen tried to carry out a massacre on the coast of Tel Aviv. The mastermind behind this plan was a well-known terrorist: Abu Abbas, the man behind the Achille Lauro hijacking. The action was thwarted by security forces.
The attack had been inspired by Libya and Iraq with the intention of sabotaging diplomatic contacts in which Arafat’s PLO participated. In particular, the Libyan secret services facilitated the logistical preparation of the mission, carried out with a mother ship and inflatable boats.