Why Hamas stores its weapons inside hospitals, mosques and schools

Inside a Gaza Strip mosque in January 2009, nothing at first seemed unusual with the wooden pulpit pushed against the cement wall. Barely taller than a man, it stood beside a microphone stand near an electric fan and some plastic chairs, according to photographs captured by the Israel Defense Forces.

But hidden inside the pulpit, Israel alleged, were a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a bulletproof vest and binoculars. Soldiers soon spread the mosque’s cache on the floor, a haul that included a rifle, grenades and ammunition. Hamas operatives, Israel charged, were to blame.