ISRAEL SAYS LOOTED LIBYAN MISSILES WENT TO HAMAS

In a report in Haaretz today a claim is made that shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles looted in Libya have been smuggled to Hamas.

The improved quality of anti-aircraft missiles held by Hamas in Gaza is increasingly worrying the Israeli defense establishment. Hamas recently managed to smuggle relatively advanced Russian missiles, which were looted from Libyan military warehouses, into the Gaza Strip. Israel is worried about the presence of the missiles, both because they curb the air force's almost unlimited freedom of movement over Gaza today, and because of their possible use against civil aviation in Eilat.

Shoulder-fired anti-aicraft missiles have been smuggled into Gaza in recent years at Iran's initiative. But the fall of Muammar Gadhafi's regime has enabled Hamas to bring in much higher quality missiles - and in much larger quantities.

[source : Hamas boosting anti-aircraft arsenal with looted Libyan missiles, Haaretz, 27/10/2011]