Israeli official warns of Hamas build-up in Gaza

The Hamas militant group has smuggled tons of explosives into the Gaza Strip since taking control of the area last month, significantly boosting its ability to carry out attacks on Israel, an Israeli military official said today.

Hamas has smuggled in 20 tons of explosives into Gaza in the past month, the senior official said.

Previously, it would take Gaza militants months or years to bring in this amount of explosives, according to Israeli media.

“Hamas has jumped light years” in its capabilities since Israel withdrew from Gaza two years ago, the official said.

Hamas rejected the Israeli assessment. “This is not true,” said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. “They want to use this as a pretext to tighten the siege on Gaza.”

Israel and Egypt have sealed Gaza’s borders since the Hamas takeover.