![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Smoke-rises-from-an-Israeli-strike-in-Gaza-City.png\" "\\"Smoke")
<\/a>Sudan has played a key role in arming Hamas militants with sophisticated Iranian-made rockets, experts said.<\/span><\/p>\nThe Israeli Defense Forces\u2019 (IDF) principal objective in Gaza is to rid Palestinian terrorists of sophisticated Iranian-produced rockets that are capable of striking deep into Israel\u2019s heartland, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.<\/span><\/p>\n These rockets originated in Sudan and were then smuggled into Gaza with Iran\u2019s help, sources said.<\/span><\/p>\n The existence of these advanced Fajr-5 rockets reveals the deepening ties between Iran and its terrorist proxies in Gaza and Sudan, where the rockets were housed before shipment.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTo put it simply, it was Iranian-made Fajr-5s, imported via Sudan, that prompted this war,\u201d said Jonathan Schanzer, vice president for research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. \u201cIran\u2019s fingerprints are all over this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Hamas terrorists in Gaza were provided around 100 Fajr-5 rockets by Iran. The rockets are capable of travelling nearly 50 miles, putting both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv within their reach. These missiles differ drastically from the crude rockets typically fired by Hamas terrorists.<\/span><\/p>\n The Fajr-5 missiles are believed to have been smuggled from Sudan into Gaza via Egypt\u2019s porous Sinai region.<\/span><\/p>\n Sudan, a longtime ally of Iran, acted as a \u201ckey transit point\u201d for these weapons, Schanzer said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c[Sudanese capital] Khartoum has long been a transit point for Iranian-made rockets to Gaza,\u201d he said. \u201cThe smuggling route goes up through Egypt and across the Sinai [desert] into the tunnels and into Gaza.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Israel was the <\/span>prime suspect<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a> <\/span>after a weapons facility in south Khartoum mysteriously exploded in late October. The Jewish state\u2019s attack on the Yarmouk military manufacturing facility was preventive in nature, experts said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI am convinced that the October bombing of an IRGC weapons factory in Khartoum was part one of this operation,\u201d Schanzer said.\u00a0\u201cThe Israelis learned of a large cache of Fajr-5s and destroyed it there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBut it appears that around 100 of them had already made it into Gaza,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u201cThis prompted the Israelis hunt down the Fajrs during this latest round of fighting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Several of the Fajr-5 missiles have <\/span>landed<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a> near Jerusalem in the last week. Others have crashed by Tel Aviv, forcing more than a million Israelis to take refuge in bomb shelters.<\/span><\/p>\n Smuggling has become easier and less restricted in Gaza following the fall of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who was known to bar the passage of sophisticated weaponry such as the Fajr-5 missiles.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOne of the main ways that Hamas acquires weapons is via an\u00a0extensive network of tunnels\u00a0under the Gaza-Egypt border,\u201d the Israeli Defense Forces stated in a <\/span>report<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/strong>earlier this month. \u201cSince Hamas\u00a0seized power\u00a0in the Gaza Strip in 2007, the terrorist group\u2019s smuggling efforts have increased. With funding from Iran, Hamas has improved its stockpile of weapons.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Israel\u2019s current military incursion into Gaza is different from its 2008 Operation Cast Lead, Schanzer said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCast Lead was about Israel sustaining too many rockets\u201d from Gaza, he said. \u201cThis is about Israel trying to get rid of a certain kind of rocket. They had a very specific goal here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren condemned Iran\u2019s arming of Hamas in a recent interview with Fox News.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur problem is not our border with Gaza,\u201d Fox News <\/span>quoted<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/strong>Oren saying on Monday. \u201cAmong the rockets being fired at us are the Fajr-5 rockets, which come directly from Iran. We know that Hamas terrorists have trained with the Iranians. There\u2019s a strong connection.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Terrorists in the Gaza Strip have also made use of Iranian-made M-75 rockets, which have reached areas near Jerusalem. The long-range rockets are believed to have been assembled with Iran\u2019s help.<\/span><\/p>\n It was believed that Iran pulled funding for Hamas as economic sanctions and other factors lightened Tehran\u2019s purse.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a prevailing assumption in Washington that Iran has been on the out with Hamas and that is absolutely wrong,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cIran likely never left because it probably took months to smuggle these [weapons] in\u2014the surprise here is that Iran is still very much a player in Gaza\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Fighting in Gaza dovetailed with a series of <\/span>military drills<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a> <\/span>in Iran that are being viewed as a warning to the West.<\/span><\/p>\n Iran has also helped hackers in the Gaza Strip launch cyber attacks on Israel, according to <\/span>reports<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Iranians may not have ordered the day and hour for Hamas to launch its missiles, but they have been the guiding hand behind Hamas\u2019 rearmament,\u201d said Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser on Iran and Iraq.<\/span><\/p>\n Others believe Israel\u2019s campaign in Gaza is a prelude to an attack on Iran. The IDF has <\/span>launched<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a> more than 1,300 air assaults on targets in Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe last 6 days of fighting may in fact be a prelude to what looks like an increasingly inevitable military strike against Iran\u2019s nuclear program,\u201d <\/span>said<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/strong><\/span>Jennifer Griffin<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a> <\/span>of Fox News on Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s increased presence in Gaza creates a new reality for Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThose who deny Iranian involvement with Hamas are like the new Truthers, those who couldn\u2019t be convinced that Al Qaeda was responsible for 9\/11 no matter how many times Bin Laden claimed credit (Or whoever was playing the role. Ed.),\u201d said Rubin. \u201cLet\u2019s just hope the White House and Langley aren\u2019t filled with these new Truthers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n