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Last update - 14:09 20/01/2009
Report: Hamas leader says he never expected scale of IDF op in Gaza
By Haaretz Service
Tags: Israel News, Gaza, IDF, Hamas

The Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram quoted Hamas' political leader Khaled Meshal on Tuesday as saying his Islamist group was surprised by the force Israel recently used against it in the Gaza Strip.

Meshal, who was speaking at an Arab conference on Gaza in the Qatari capital Doha, reportedly told a closed forum that Hamas had believed that Israel's 22-day campaign against it would last no longer than three days. The offensive ended Sunday, after Israel and Hamas separately declared a cease-fire.

"We didn't expect the crimes that were committed against our citizens, the residents of Gaza," Al-Ahram quoted the Damascus-based Meshal as saying.
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Approximately 500 Hamas militants were killed in the operation, Israeli estimates state, and hundreds more were wounded.

The IDF also killed hundreds of militants belonging to various armed factions and militias. More than 1,250 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the offensive. Hamas says just 48 of its fighters died in the fighting.

According to Al-Ahram, Meshal said there were meant to be massive protests in front of Egyptian embassies across the Arab world, to pressure Cairo into opening its border crossing with Gaza at Rafah.

"We had relied on the Arab street," Meshal is quoted as saying. These protests never took place, although there were major demonstrations around the world against Israel for its actions in Gaza.

Egypt boycotted the Doha summit, suspecting that Hamas and its sponsors, Syria and Iran, would use it as a platform for a hard-line position and hurt Egypt's efforts to mediate a Gaza truce.

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      1.   Meshal`s comments. 09:44  |  David Nigel Braham 20/01/09
      2.   THE PEOPLE OF GAZA 09:49  |  ARIYA GOTHELF 20/01/09
      3.   Khaled Meshal 09:59  |  Robin 20/01/09
      4.   SOMETHING THAT DOESN`T KILL YOU, WOULD ONLY... 10:02  |  indrajaya 20/01/09
      5.   #4 Indy Poster GIRL FOR iran 10:24  |  Big Sur 20/01/09
      6.   EGYPT`S 60 YEAR GAZA SIEGE 10:30  |  Yonatan 20/01/09
      7.   want the truth? 10:55  |  Big Sur 20/01/09
      8.   Normal people 10:56  |  yves 20/01/09
      9.   Lies coming from Egypt`s Al Ahram 10:56  |  Hatem 20/01/09
      10.   war crimes 11:02  |  Adel 20/01/09
      11.   mashal and nasrallah 11:19  |  indrajaya 20/01/09
      12.   Meshal This is Not Even Half of the Strength of Israel`s Force 11:33  |  Gil 20/01/09
      13.   Lesson no. 1 to Hamas 11:37  |  Bo Frank 20/01/09
      14.   INDRAJAYA Exactly.Hamas tried to kill with thousands of Qassems 11:39  |  PETER SM 20/01/09
      15.   Khaled, there`s a lot more where that came from 11:56  |  Maury 20/01/09
      16.   Mashaal joins that Hezshatan Snake in expressing "SUPRISE" 12:03  |  Alan SA 20/01/09
      17.   Now that it has been shown that Hamas is 12:08  |  Avnera 20/01/09
      18.   Inept coward 12:13  |  Dhimmi Hendrix 20/01/09
      19.   what doesnt kill you... 12:44  |  g. lee 20/01/09
      20.   A Blatant Lie 13:07  |  Foad 20/01/09
      21.   Hamas rockets 13:15  |  mike 20/01/09
      22.   bunch of inalphabet 13:20  |  turbo 20/01/09
      23.   If the Egyptians were Finnish and the Palestinians in Gaza . . . 13:43  |  Zev Davis 20/01/09
      24.   To Foad.. surely u mean "a list of blatent lies" 13:50  |  ZISD 20/01/09
      25.   Let me see... 13:53  |  Foad admirer 20/01/09
      26.   #19 turbo...be happy they asked 13:53  |  Lynn 20/01/09
      27.   WHAT!! 13:57  |  An Arab Neighbor 20/01/09
      28.   Meshal, Bush & the Neocons 14:21  |  Bryan 20/01/09
      29.   after 8 years of threatening to do something KADIMA 14:23  |  Avi 20/01/09
      30.   #4 indrajaya 14:32  |  Bryan 20/01/09
      31.   Scale of IDF operation in Gaza 16:01  |  Angel 20/01/09
      32.   Well we will see a victory parades and speaches 16:14  |  Deba 20/01/09
      33.   So now finally they understood 16:24  |  TOMY 20/01/09
      34.   meshal is right 16:30  |  ertan 20/01/09
      35.   An Arab Neighbor , It was a cake walk 16:32  |  TOMY 20/01/09
      36.   Hamas wearing ladies dresses........... 16:34  |  bernard ross 20/01/09
      37.   Surprise Surpirse 16:36  |  alan the real one 20/01/09
      38.   Life on Fantasy Island 16:36  |  Mark Lincoln 20/01/09
      39.   Leaders make errors and miscalculaitons ... 16:49  |  Boris 20/01/09
      40.   Meshal 17:00  |  Samk 20/01/09
      41.   Of course!, Israel never has the right to counter-attack 17:06  |  Johann 20/01/09
      42.   Arab "victory" claims 17:16  |  Charles 20/01/09
      43.   Poor Palestinians 17:39  |  EZ 20/01/09
      44.   # 11 indi sees the light 17:39  |  rob 20/01/09
      45.   Will Hamas learn? 17:42  |  MichaelF 20/01/09
      46.   no next time 17:42  |  abo bechar 20/01/09
      47.   To Dutch #12 Get your facts straight. 17:47  |  Shabak 20/01/09
      48.   To: Adel in Bahrain 18:03  |  Angel 20/01/09
      49.   To: Foad in Shehem 18:06  |  Angel 20/01/09
      50.   #20;Foad,save it nobody believes the stats you quote 18:41  |  Doc Holliday 20/01/09
      51.   Serves Hamas Right - There`s a Price For Stupidity 19:06  |  ott 20/01/09
      52.   so,..Hamas was goading Israel into an attack? 19:12  |  eb 20/01/09
      53.   Hamas should be totally destroyd 19:17  |  Jean Van Daem 20/01/09
      54.   Rocket Attacks 19:24  |  Steve Sayger 20/01/09
      55.   Foad 19:41  |  utagawa 20/01/09
      56.   Get used to it. 19:50  |  Joe Sittizen 20/01/09
      57.   Miscalculation! 19:57  |  Jeff Northridge 20/01/09
      58.   Meshal & Hamas only saw the IDF with Gloves On 20:22  |  ROBOCOP 20/01/09
      59.   Israel is different but this proves nothing 20:24  |  fritz t. 20/01/09
      60.   you ain`t seen nothin` yet, meshal 20:33  |  michelle 20/01/09
      61.   Who killed the Palestinians 20:49  |  Asaf 20/01/09
      62.   Israel didn`t expect .... 21:01  |  Ines 20/01/09
      63.   From his TV and his Cola and popcorn, miserable coward 21:06  |  Israeli citizen 20/01/09
      64.   And the murdered Fatah members 21:27  |  are they counted? 20/01/09
      65.   "Hamas never expected..." 21:29  |  Meir 20/01/09
      66.   Three days or three weeks, a short time compared... 21:30  |  Maureen Ann 20/01/09
      67.   Re # Yah and also 21:40  |  Ines 20/01/09
      68.   The DeFact Purpose of Hamas 21:55  |  Richie 20/01/09
      69.   Re# 6 Right... Egypt and Jordan 21:55  |  Ines 20/01/09
      70.   Maureen Ann sees the light! 22:02  |  fiona 20/01/09
      71.   Egyptian sources!!! 22:11  |  Tawfeeq 20/01/09
      72.   #4... They could if they want too. 22:21  |  Spitzer 20/01/09
      73.   what? after Lebanon another bight fellow didnt expect Israel to 22:24  |  Jack 20/01/09
      74.   well meshal wasnt there was he? Hamas his like Hisbollah hid. 22:27  |  Jack 20/01/09
      75.   Arab Neighbor is right 22:31  |  noor 20/01/09
      76.   Admission of defeat 22:32  |  Realist 20/01/09
      77.   i admit that israel won the war 22:32  |  noor 20/01/09
      78.   indrajaya - you left out one point 22:46  |  Arie 20/01/09
      79.   indrajaya left one point out 22:47  |  Arie 20/01/09
      80.   Meshal 23:19  |  Pat 20/01/09
      81.   To those readers that know little part 1 23:32  |  Leon 20/01/09
      82.   Expectations can be dangerous 23:35  |  Larry 20/01/09
      83.   Hammas: a new administrative body 23:41  |  arik 20/01/09
      84.   I never expected it either, it was so long overdue and 23:57  |  harvey 20/01/09
      85.   Congrats Israel, 1200 Palestinians killed, no accomplishment... 00:41  |  VST 21/01/09
      86.   Noor and Arab Neighbor... 00:43  |  Ben 21/01/09
      87.   one word 01:10  |  natan 21/01/09
      88.   In this case the AAAH`s voted with the leader(s) and copped it Bi 03:19  |  JV 21/01/09
      89.   #21 Mike 04:12  |  Daniel 21/01/09
      90.   Mark Lincoln 05:05  |  TonyL 21/01/09
      91.   Meshal.....Nasrallah........Isreal..!!? 08:47  |  SUNDAY 22/01/09
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