CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - During Tuesday's briefing to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, OC (commanding officer) Military Intelligence Major General Amos Yadlin said al-Qaeda operatives were among the dozens of terrorists who infiltrated Gaza through the breached border with Egypt.

According to Yadlin, the Gaza-based Hamas terror organization accomplished a lot while the border was open.

"[The breach] enabled Hamas to bring back those [terrorists] who had left for training in Syria and Iran, including snipers, explosives experts, rocket experts and engineers," he said. They also smuggled huge amounts of weaponry across the open border.

Speaking of the alleged humanitarian crisis, Yadlin said while some items may be in short supply, Gazans are by no means going hungry. He pointed out that Palestinians spent an estimated $150 million in Egypt after crossing the border at Rafah. Nonetheless, he said, Israel could expect more demonstrations against the sanctions to Strip.

In response to Yadlin's briefing on Gaza, Member of Knesset (MK) Zvi Hendel (National Union/National Relgious Party) recalled the six years between Israel's pullout from southern Lebanon in 2000 and the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006.

Hendel said the Hamas military buildup in Gaza reminded him of Hezbollah's buildup in Lebanon. Hendel believes Israel must do more then it did in southern Lebanon.

"We must enter the Gaza Strip, not in order to stay there for two days or two months, because there is no other solution," he said.

Sources: The Jerusalem Post, Haaretz