ANALYSIS – But of course. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has uncovered large caches of Chinese-made weapons, intelligence-gathering gear and other military supplies used by Hamas, according to a retired U.S. Air Force foreign area officer.
The strategic analyst, Guermantes Lailari, said in a report published by the Jewish Policy Center, that the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has revealed extensive Chinese support for various Palestinian terror groups.
Israeli intelligence sources have seen a significant upgrade in weaponry and technology used by Hamas in its current conflict, raising questions about whether the Chinese supplies came directly from China or through a third party.
While China has denied providing Hamas with military equipment, Lailari argues that the deep Chinese military backing for Iran is a likely source of the arms. (RELATED: CIA: Iran May Launch Retaliatory Strike Against Israel In 48 Hours)
“Even if the Chinese military supplies discovered in Gaza were provided by Iran, [Chinese] officials knew that Iran forwarded equipment to Hamas,” he said. “Certainly, Iran provided funding and training to use the equipment.”
CNN reported: “Hamas acquires its weapons through smuggling or local construction and receives some military support from Iran,” the CIA's World Factbook says. CNN added:
…experts say the Islamic Republic has long been Hamas' main military supporter, smuggling weapons into the enclave through clandestine cross-border tunnels or boats that have escaped the Mediterranean blockade.
“Hamas' tunnel infrastructure is still massive despite Israel and Egypt regularly degrading it,” said Bilal Saab, senior fellow and director of the Defense and Security Program at the Middle East Institute (MEI) in Washington.
Hamas has received arms from Iran smuggled into the (Gaza) Strip via tunnels. This often included longer-range systems,” said Daniel Byman, a senior fellow with the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
“Iran has also been shipping Hamas its more advanced … ballistic missiles via sea, in components for construction in Gaza,” said Charles Lister, senior fellow at the MEI.
Lailari added that: “The IDF found Chinese military equipment in Hamas warehouses, including large numbers of assault rifles (QBZ assault rifles) and grenade launchers (QLZ87 automatic grenade launchers), telescopic sights for rifles and cartridges for M16s, high-end communications equipment, listening devices, tactical military radios and sophisticated explosives.”
“This is top-grade weaponry and communications technology, stuff that Hamas did not have before, with very sophisticated explosives which have never been found before and especially on such a large scale,” an Israeli intelligence source said. (RELATED: Space Force Preparing For Orbital Combat With China, Russia)
Chinese rocket technology was also found in a Hamas weapons laboratory. Meanwhile, Lailari notes that Chinese military technology has also been found in missiles used by other Iran-backed terrorist groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, and Iraqi Shiite militia groups.
In January, after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had discovered a “massive” stockpile of Chinese-made weapons being used by Hamas, the Chinese Defense Ministry responded that it has “never provided any weapons” to conflict areas, including in the Israel-Gaza war.
This is the first time Beijing has denied arming Hamas since the conflict began. Colonel Wu Qian, the ministry's spokesman, said that China had provided food, medical and other emergency aid to the Palestinians but had never provided any weapons or equipment.
However, many doubt the official Chinese narrative, noting that some Chinese social media influencers have been openly pro-Hamas since the October 7 terrorist attacks.
According to one Israeli intelligence source, “China has changed its attitude to Israel dramatically, and it's gone totally toward a position of antisemitism now.”
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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