Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar said in a November 4, 2019 speech that aired on Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas-Gaza) that Hamas has hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnels, hundreds of underground and above-ground command centers, thousands of traps, and thousands of locally-made anti-tank missiles, which he claimed can destroy Israel’s tanks. He said that Hamas has thousands of missiles that will turn Israel’s cities into ruins and ghost cities if Israel makes any “stupid” mistake. Addressing Israeli politician and former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, who is currently trying to form a coalition in the Israeli government, Sinwar threatened: “We will make you curse the day your mother gave birth to you.” Sinwar also threatened: “We will crush Tel Aviv and cause its sirens to wail morning, evening, and night for six whole months.” In addition, Sinwar recalled a time when the Al-Qassam Brigades ran out of metal pipes for making missiles and a simple farmer led its members to former Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, where he allegedly showed them metal pipes that were part of an irrigation system that had been left behind when Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip. Sinwar claimed that these pipes were enough to produce missiles for ten years.
Following are excerpts:
Yahya Sinwar: We now have hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnels.
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We have many hundreds of control and command rooms, both underground and above ground. We have hundreds and thousands of traps, and if the enemy so much as thinks to enter the Gaza Strip, our sons will go out… You and your brothers will emerge from the belly of the earth… The earth will spew forth our men and our youth, who will go out to [the enemy’s] tanks from the belly of the earth with anti-tank missiles that were manufactured in the Gaza Strip.
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[These missiles] will turn the strongest tanks in the world – the Merkava IV – into ash-covered metal, Allah willing.
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Dear brothers and sisters, in 2014 we had dozens – perhaps only a few hundreds – of high-quality anti-tank missiles. Today, by the grace of Allah and the efforts of the youth of Gaza, we possess thousands of these missiles.
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Today, by the grace of Allah, we have many thousands of missiles that will turn the occupation’s cities into ruins and ghost cities – Allah willing – if the enemy makes any stupid mistake against Gaza or against one of our great national causes.
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We have seen that some of the occupation leaders are making threats and warnings, and some of them have joined the ranks of those who are boastful, like [Israeli Ministers] Lieberman and Bennett… Now we see that [Benny] Gantz has also become [boastful], threatening and warning…
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We say to him: We are waiting for you, if you are able to form a government, so that we can see what you can do.
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With Allah’s help, we will make you curse the day your mother gave birth to you.
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You will see, and the world will see, that we have patiently suffered through the hunger, the injuries, and the siege so that we can build the power with which we can rub your nose, and the nose of your country and its military, in the mud.
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We will crush Tel Aviv and cause its sirens to wail morning, evening, and night for six whole months.
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One day, some leaders of the Al-Qassam [Brigades] came. They were [responsible] for [missile] production. They said: “There are no pipes with which we can produce missiles. We are out of pipes. There is a ban on bringing iron in from outside, and we cannot bring them through the tunnels – these are long pipes. We will cease production within a month.” I said that Allah will help us find a way. Then, a simple farmer approached one of the men from the Brigades. He said: “I heard that you’re having a problem with pipes for missile production.” The young man told him this was true. The [farmer] said: “I will give you the solution for this.” [The young man said:] “What is it?” He answered: “Come with me.” They went together to the liberated [Israeli] settlements [in Gush Katif]. The [farmer] said: “Stop here and let’s get out [of the car]. From here, walk five kilometers, and you will find 10-inch pipes. When the occupiers left the Gaza Strip, they left the irrigation lines. Come here. From here, if you walk straight for 10 kilometers, you will find eight-inch pipes. Come this way. Walk six kilometers, and there are [various] kinds of piping. It is easy to dig here.” The brothers started digging and removed from the ground the pipes that the occupier left behind when it left the Gaza Strip. These would be enough for the Al-Qassam Brigades to manufacture missiles for the next ten years.