Officials in the West and in the Arab countries confirmed to the New York Times the claims of the IDF spokesman – and said that Hamas holds large stockpiles of fuel, weapons and food. Without additional supplies outside the Gaza Strip and despite the IDF blockade.
For years, Hamas has been preparing for this type of situation, building dozens of kilometers of underground tunnels – and storing in them many means that will enable it to continue fighting the IDF forces. According to the report, “Hamas has everything it needs in the underground system it has established.” .
Hamas holds hundreds of thousands and even millions of liters of fuel for its vehicles and missiles, stockpiles of ammunition, explosives and means to assemble additional weapons. In addition, it holds large reserves of food, water and medical equipment and medicines. According to the Lebanese senior official’s estimate, Hamas has 35,000-40,000 fighters.
The New York Times report is based, among other things, on the words of the freed abductee Yochaved Lifshitz, who told the media this week that Hamas terrorists gave her “medicine, shampoo and feminine hygiene products” while in captivity. In addition, her words are quoted according to which she ate exactly what Hamas terrorists ate – pita with two types of cheese and a cucumber.
The various sources for the article emphasize that the majority of Hamas’ reserves are kept in its branched tunnel system in the Gaza Strip, and it is difficult to form a clear picture of the situation regarding the details of the situation. “While the siege of Gaza affects the lives of approximately 2 million residents of the Gaza Strip, who suffer from a major shortage of food and water, it does not affect Hamas’ fighting capabilities at all,” the report states.
Yesterday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres commented on the situation in Gaza and said that “the humanitarian system in Gaza has experienced a total collapse with unimaginable consequences for a million citizens”. At the same time, the UN General Assembly voted by a large majority in favor of a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Samir Ghatas, an Egyptian researcher who studies the Gaza Strip closely, told the New York Times: “The Hamas movement only cares about the Hamas movement. The public in Gaza means absolutely nothing to her.”
These fuel tanks are inside Gaza.
They contain more than 500,000 liters of fuel.
Ask Hamas if you can have some. https://t.co/Dlag6VdbMq pic.twitter.com/WXzZMFr8yI
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 24, 2023
Throughout the past week, the IDF has claimed that there is enough fuel in the Gaza Strip that is held by Hamas terrorists, and there is no need to introduce additional fuel into the Strip – which will be used by Hamas terrorists in the conduct of the war against Israel. Fuel will not be brought into the Strip, an IDF spokesman posted on the X network (formerly Twitter) a photo of Hamas fuel reserves, and wrote: “Hamas has fuel, you can ask them for some.”