Shapir, entitled Hamas Weapons , shows that the organization uses a vast arsenal of both improvised devices and professional armament that is used by the most modern armies (U.S.A. or Germany). As an assault weapon, the main rifles and vending machines are: Ak47, AKM, Type 56 assault rifles, Colt M4A1 Carbine, Sig SG 552 Commando, Steyr HS .50. From the point of view of a possible direct confrontation, Hamas would not face the Israeli Defense Forces (I.D.F.), preferring a guerilla warfare based on sporadic missile launches. Hamas uses a large arsenal of standard but also modified rockets. Ballistic devices have an impressive range. Of the shortest range of action, we mention the 9M22U 122mm, 66.2kg rockets and the most commonly used -40km – are the 122mm WS-1E missiles weighing 74kg. Generally, most rockets have at least 4 kg of active explosive, and are capable of causing considerable damage. Generally speaking, these missiles are used in the following way : for targets up to 6 km, 81-122mm mortars are used; Up to 12km are used Qassam series missiles (90-115mm); Up to 40 km are used Grad / Katyusha 122mm missiles; Up to 80km are used modified rockets Fajr – 3 of 240mm . Most of these missiles are produced directly in Gaza by assembling components. In fact, a significant amount comes illegally and clandestinely from Iran or Russia.
If we want a brief outlook on Hamas ballistic capabilities, Cast Lead (or The Gaza War) provides data that highlights an extremely powerful capacity. During these confrontations that lasted from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009, Hamas launched more than 600 rockets, most of them Qassam (nearly 400) of 90-122mm in an area of over 70 square kilometers . To this, over 300 mortars and nearly 900 HTR (high-trajectory rounds) are added. The main targets of these launches were the Israeli cities Beersheva, Hebron, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Tel Aviv . As in the Lebanon war of 2006, Hamas also confirmed the lack of accuracy in addressing strategic objectives of the IDF. Thus, many of the missiles launched did not cause any damage to the enemy, and many of them have accidentally hit civilian targets. However, most rockets hit both civilian and military targets (especially in the southern area of Israel), causing a strong psychological and media impact .
Hamas’s defense strategy aims to use the urban agglomeration in maximum terms, where the movement manages to carry out its actions using the civilian population as a possible threat to I.D.F. threats. During the Gaza War, defense was conceived in three major urban centers – Rafah – Khan Yunis – Gaza City – around which security zones were built . The strip had three lines of defense – 1. the central zone of the city (defended by elite troops – commanders); 2. City entrance area – Defended by light brigades disposed in the eastern area in the form of semicircle; 3. the first line of defense (in the form of a security border) along the 64 km of the strip