Hamas In Hiding: Who's Afraid? Not Us!

Israel states the obvious:

Israel accused Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip on Sunday of hiding in foreign diplomatic missions in an effort to elude Israeli forces.

"The leaders of Hamas and the armed wing are hiding in bunkers, hospitals and foreign missions," Israeli Cabinet Secretary Oved Yehezkel told reporters, basing his information on an intelligence briefing received by ministers.

Meanwhile, Hamas denies the obvious:

But Hamas officials reject Israeli insinuations that their behaviour is cowardly.

"Fear is the last thing we could be accused of," Hamas parliamentarian Mushir al-Masri said on Sunday. "Martyrdom is our dearest wish, but God has ordered us not to pose ourselves as easy prey for our enemies."

Apparently someone from the Hamas office forgot to tell regular Gazans that should Israel decide that they had enough of Hamas firing rockets into Israel--it will be every man for himself.

Apparently the bravery of Hamas is surpassed only by their military cunning. Jeffrey Goldberg wrote back on December 29:

According to al-Hayat, Hamas believed that Israel wouldn't strike back as it did:

It is also clear that Hamas was surprised by the magnitude of the response, as it did not take the Israeli threats seriously. Despite its decision to resume rocket attacks, it did not take any extraordinary precautions, such as evacuating its security headquarters and equipping hospitals and the civil defense forces. This explains the large number of casualties and the lack of appropriate treatment.

It is a catastrophe that a people should suffer under such a government--but they did vote for them, and supported their illegal takeover.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza and Hamas and Operation Cast Lead.