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DEBKAfile's military sources reveal a formidable addition to Hamas' arsenal:The missile fired from Gaza out to the Mediterranean last week was not a Qassam as reported but a C-802, the Iranian shore-to-ship Nur C-802 missile, which is based on the Chinese "Silkworm."It was launched by Iranian officers who are training Hamas operatives in its use before delivering a large consignment. With its 120-km range and 165-kilo warhead, the C-802's mission is to break Israel's 40 km blockade of Gaza's waters. This is now the key objective of Tehran and the Palestinian Islamists.The Israeli Navy's first brush with the C-802 was in the 2006 Lebanon war. On July 14, it was used by Hizballah to cripple the Hanit missile ship opposite Beirut.The Israeli military says last week's launch was a serious provocation and a violation of Hamas' own declared ceasefire of Jan. 19. The amount of these missiles smuggled into Gaza and their date of delivery, whether before Israel's 22-day military operation or into the ceasefire, is unknown.Our sources affirm that arms smuggling to Gaza continues by land and sea at the pre-war tempo notwithstanding the brave talk in Jerusalem, Washington and Cairo of a concerted effort to stem the flow.An field officer dealing with the traffic says Israeli officials' threats to hit back at each smuggling incident as though it was a missile launch have not lessened the flow of weapons heading into Gaza through Egyptian Sinai and the Philadelphi border Corridor.Since 2006, military experts note, Iran has upgraded the C-802 in an important respect.Then, Hizballah depended on the Lebanese army's sophisticated radar for accurate targeting of the Israeli warship.For Hizballah and Hamas,Iran's manufactures have come up with a version that operates without radar-1,000 missiles have already been delivered to Hizballah.The new version has the attributes of a cruise missile: It has small radar reflectivity, is armed with a strong anti-jamming capability and can skim as low as 5-7 meters from the water's surface under the targeted ship's radar. Tehran claims its updated Nur anti-ship missile has 98 percent targeting effectiveness.As in the days of Noah....
