A “major power” bombed a convoy of weapons funded by Iran and headed for Hamas in Gaza last January, killing 39 people, according to a Sudanese minister. CBS News said Israel carried out the counterterrorist attack.
Israel has declined to comment on the report, but the government and the United States signed a “memo of understanding” at the conclusion of Operation Cast Lead, calling for action by the international community to stop the flow of weapons to Gaza.
The 17-truck weapons convoy was bombed in Sudan before the arms could reach Egypt and then proceed through Sinai Desert. From there, they were to be brought into Gaza by sea or through smuggling tunnels along the Philadelphi Route that runs past the border city of Rafiah.
“A major power bombed small trucks carrying arms, burning all of them. It killed Sudanese, Eritreans, and Ethiopians and injured others,” according to Sudanese Highways Minister Mabrouk Mubarak Saleem.
CBS reported that the report, if true, indicates “there is a shadow war against Hamas and its weapons sources that is wider than the Israeli or U.S. government has revealed.”
Israeli officials previously have warned that an international network of terrorists is behind the supply of weapons from Iran to Hamas through Yemen and Sudan. The weapons include anti-tank missiles and explosives.
The Olmert administration ended the Operation Cast Lead counterterrorist campaign again the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza in mid-January on condition that Western powers help stop the flow of weapons to Hamas.
An international conference is scheduled to take place in Ottawa, Canada in May to discuss how to implement methods to carry out the agreement
Since the end of Operation Cast Lead, the Israel Air Force has bombed smuggling tunnels several times, often striking smugglers with weapons.