Hamas will adopt new fighting and training techniques and emphasise its anti-armour capabilities following a review of the organisation's failures during the three-week conflict in Gaza, a senior Hamas official has told Jane's.Firas Press adds that some 40 Hamas commanders essentially abandoned the fighting during the war. It also adds this intriguing tidbit:Some 50 field commanders will also be removed from their roles for their poor performance in response to Operation 'Cast Lead', the official said.
The highest-level military council and a representative from the intelligence department, as well as senior Hamas political figures, launched their investigation in January at the end of the three-week offensive, which Israel began after a six-month ceasefire ended without resolution. The investigation, first reported by Jane's on 22 January, was expected to be critical of virtually every decision made by commanders on the battlefield, as well as of the political decision-making surrounding Hamas' engagement in the conflict.
However, conclusions drawn from the investigation show an organisation unbowed by its defeat, with plans for new logistical supply lines and a modern satellite communications network. The report also stresses a need to rebuild the morale and motivation of the front-line fighters so that they do not show the same "weakness and fear [when confronted] by a real war".
[The report emphasized] the necessity of changing the methods of warfare used and ways to train their units, and not to rely on Iran's combat doctrine.Which means that Hamas admits that Iran was training them in how to fight, probably indirectly.