Hamas asymmetric warfare versus Israeli modern firepower

Hamas is demonstrating every day that it has learned a crucial warfighting lesson from other terror groups such as the Islamic State (Isis) which is that superior military might can be countered by deadly asymmetric tactics. In Iraq and Syria Isis launched hundreds of commercially-acquired standard drones and quadcopters which had been adapted to drop grenades and other explosive munitions. Hamas will also have taken into account the successful use of drones by the Russians and Ukrainians in the last 20 months. Hamas is using similar modified drones to target Israeli soldiers and tanks. A video released by Hamas showed how one drone dropped a home-made winged grenade with an impact plunger on a group of Israeli troops, scattering them in all directions as it exploded on the ground close to them. With Iranian technological assistance, Hamas has developed a sophisticated indigenous drone programme in Gaza, according to the Royal United Services Institute. A weapons development division within the Izz al-Din Qassim Brigades has built kamikaze drones that blow up on impact, as revealed in the Hamas video. One kamikaze drone called Zouari, named after a dead Hamas engineer, Mohammed Zouari, has a loitering capability, enabling Hamas operators to wait for the optimum moment to launch a munition. Hamas also have unarmed surveillance drones which are being used to track Israeli troop and tank movements. The use of quadcopters by Hamas was first revealed on October 7, during the day of killings and hostage-taking. A video showed a quadcopter dropping a munition onto an Israeli Merkava tank. Drones were also used on that day to destroy Israeli observation towers, border cameras and communications which successfully thwarted Israeli defence systems. There is another key aspect of Hamas's use of drones. Every day they are providing images of the battles going on in Gaza, giving Hamas a propaganda tool against an enemy which is attempting to prosecute a war in carefully-orchestrated secrecy. Hamas's greatest tactical asset is surprise. Emerging from their "Gaza Metro" tunnels, they can launch attacks with armed drones, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and anti-tank missiles and then vanish back underground. Several videos released have shown how the rabbit warren of tunnels has given Hamas an exploitable advantage against a force equipped with far superior weapons.