'IDF weapon stockpile missing in Gaza'

[bbsh]

'IDF weapon stockpile missing in Gaza'
Five tons of unexploded Israeli bombs stored in the Gaza Strip under Hamas police guard have been stolen, UN officials said Tuesday.

Ground team prepares helicopter for operation.
Photo: IDF

Slideshow: Pictures of the week UN spokesman Richard Miron said the explosives were being stored in Gaza until a UN team of disposal experts could disarm them, but they disappeared.

The bombs were dropped on Gaza during Israel's offensive there last month, according to another UN official. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said three one-ton bombs and eight quarter-ton bombs were taken from the warehouse.
Miron said, "It's clearly extremely dangerous and needs to be disposed of in a safe manner." He said the material was under Hamas guard between Feb. 4 and 14 "in a warehouse in Gaza City under guard by Hamas police when it was stolen."

IDF spokesman Peter Lerner told The Associated Press that the explosives were probably taken by Hamas. He said Israel had been informed by the UN about the missing ordnance.

Hamas officials in Gaza contacted by the AP said they had no knowledge of the matter.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull

[bbsh]

Think any sort of technologies, guidance systems, etc could have been smuggled out of Gaza and passed onto countries like Iran, Syria?

Aside from that.. expect huge IED's in the future..

[domokun]

I was about post same thing. You just were little faster.

Interesting and kinda not surprising development. I'm not one bit surprised as explosives guarded by terrorist organization can go missing instead of being properly destroyed by UN EOD team. No knowledge of event by Hamas is BS, they control everything in Gaza, unfortunately.

[bbsh]

I was about post same thing. You just were little faster.

Interesting and kinda not surprising development. I'm not one bit surprised as explosives guarded by terrorist organization can go missing instead of being properly destroyed by UN EOD team. No knowledge of event by Hamas is BS, they control everything in Gaza, unfortunately.

IAF should have used one of the recent rocket attacks as an excuse to bomb the weapons storage..

If hamas was guarding it, no UN personnel would have been exposed to the attack and it would have been 100% justified.

[Connaught Ranger]

I was about post same thing. You just were little faster.

Interesting and kinda not surprising development. I'm not one bit surprised as explosives guarded by terrorist organization can go missing instead of being properly destroyed by UN EOD team. No knowledge of event by Hamas is BS, they control everything in Gaza, unfortunately.

As a matter of interest is there a U.N. E.O.D. team on call in Gaza?

And if so from which Nation(s) are they drawn.

Connaught Ranger.

[Ulytau]

Think any sort of technologies, guidance systems, etc could have been smuggled out of Gaza and passed onto countries like Iran, Syria?

Aside from that.. expect huge IED's in the future..

Or maybe they going to use em for making ied or something? >.<

[Bacilluspolymyxa]

5 tonnes! Whats the average fail rate of Israeli munitions?

[Linedoggie]

Shocking.....

Hamas Steal explosives

[RSone]

Shocking.....

Hamas Steal explosives

x2. Unexploded Israeli ordnance under Hamas guard? Perfectly safe................

[oldsoak]

Do we know they existed ?

[bbsh]

[oldsoak]

So its a definite that the bombs were real and the quantities described were verifiable ? How do we know that there were not more ?
Walking out of a secured compound with a 250kg bomb in Gaza doesnt excite much comment it would seem. Trouble with those things is that they can very easily be slipped into a culvert and wired up for a very nasty IED.

[cbreedon]

5 tonnes! Whats the average fail rate of Israeli munitions?

Not sure what type of bombs they used but that's only 10,000 pounds or 20 500 pounders.... The stories you hear they dropped alot.

[domokun]

IAF should have used one of the recent rocket attacks as an excuse to bomb the weapons storage..

If hamas was guarding it, no UN personnel would have been exposed to the attack and it would have been 100% justified.

I agree completely Finnish news said that there was about 7 tons on unexploded ordnance in that storage. It's lot of Quassam warheads and few Merkava destroying IED's (more than 50kg of explosive).

As a matter of interest is there a U.N. E.O.D. team on call in Gaza?

And if so from which Nation(s) are they drawn.

Connaught Ranger.

I have no knowledge over where or by witch nations from UN EOD team was supposed to be sent. But BBC and Finnish news said that UN EOD teams equipment was waiting for Israeli approval to be shipped on Gaza strip and there is EOD team already in Gaza. UN has quite many nations involved with EOD tasks like demining operations around, I'm pretty sure that most of European nations are involved in these on some level. Finnish EOD units have been deployed at least in Angola, Lebanon and Kamputchea on last years.

BBC story on same subject.

[deagle]

thats an error that can have MAJOR implications. a multi-ton explosive shouldn't have been that easy to smuggle away. was it even guarded ??