Israel: Hamas has long-range missiles

JERUSALEM, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Hamas has smuggled scores of long-range Iranian missiles into Gaza and tested a missile that can hit Tel Aviv, a top Israeli military intelligence officer said.

At the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting Tuesday, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, head of military intelligence, said Hamas fired a rocket with a distance capability of 37.2 miles, off the Gaza coast into the sea last week, Maariv reported Wednesday.

Such a rocket has the capability of hitting major central Israeli cities, the newspaper quoted him saying. Lebanon's Hezbollah has similar rockets in its arsenal, he said.

Iran continues to fund, train and smuggle weapons to Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas, Yadlin said adding, the Iranian weapons were being transferred via Turkey and Syria, Maariv said.

Hamas, is not interested in a confrontation with Israel at present, and instead opts to strengthen its control in the Gaza Strip, the newspaper quoted Yadlin saying.

At the same time, the terror organization continues to strengthen its military capabilities and smuggle weapons into Gaza using tunnels from Egypt, the paper quoted him saying.

In the north, Hezbollah continues to boost its arsenal with financial and technological assistance from Iran, Maariv quoted the intelligence chief saying.