\'Small amount\' of weapons used against Israel, say Al-Qassam Brigades

Hamas\' military wing has been using \'locally-made rockets\' Gaza – Mohammed Habib The military wing of the Hamas movement has revealed that it only used \"a very small amount\" of weapons in its recent conflict with Israel, dubbed \"Operation Shale Stones.\" Speaking at a memorial service for victims of the conflict in the central al-Nuseirat refugee camp, a member of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said that the group used \"locally-made rockets\" against Israeli aerial, ground and naval targets.
The fighter described the amount of arms used in these strikes as \"only a very small part of al-Qassam’s ordnance and armaments.\"
Calling on the Palestinian people to unite \"on a foundation of resistance,\" the al-Qassam fighter said that the brigades were \"working day and night to keep the faith for Palestine and its holy places as well as for the Palestinian prisoners in the occupation’s prisons.\" He also referred to Operation Shale Stones as \"an opening salvo for other rounds of victory and the coming liberation battle.\"
Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Haya also hailed the \"major victory\" of the most recent year and added that al-Qassam and other resistance factions had \"returned to the trenches at the time when (the Palestinian public) were going back home to celebrate.\"
Al-Haya also renewed his commitment to the resistance route and lauded \"the sacrifices of the martyrs and the patience of their families.\"
Al-Nusairat Hamas leader, Kamal Tarban, praised those who attended the memorial, referring to it as evidence of \"popular support for the resistance and martyrdom option.\"
Predicting an imminent liberation of Palestine, Tarban referred to Arab and Muslim backing and described the effect of the resistance on Israel as \"corrosive,\" adding \"instead of talking about Israeli security, now they talk about their very own presence on this land.\"
Meanwhile, some Israeli outlets have named 2012 \"the year of the Israeli Air Force,\" and the armed forces branch has declared its intention to maintain the states over 2013, following the operation named \"Pillar of Cloud.\"
In a survey of the air forces\' progress since the 2006 Lebanon war, Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz noted that the branch’s activities and developments were geared towards preparations, \"not only for further conflicts with Hezbollah or Hamas, but also vis-a-vis the main event for which the air force has been preparing so extensively, the possibility of eventually bombing nuclear sites in Iran.\"
The piece described the forces\' plans to acquire a second squadron of F-35 aeroplanes, as Israel is set to receive the first batch of the Lockheed Martin-made aircraft in 2016.
This first squadron cost $2.75bn and a political battle over budgeting for the second batch is currently taking place.