Israel Fears Reprisals for Killing of Hamas Members

Israeli security was happy two weeks ago that the infamous Awadallah brothers, Adel and Imad, had been killed, but officials fear reprisals from Hamas. Israeli security officials say they had been watching the two guerrillas hideout near Hebron for some time - Adel was the most wanted man on the West Bank. But the stakeout was almost botched when a drone plane that had been monitoring the house crashed nearby. The brothers, however, apparently still didnt spot the surveillance, and a second drone was launched.

At a certain point, Israeli officials say, they had a dilemma: While they wanted to watch the Awadallahs to learn more about their network, they received information that the brothers were planning eight operations, timed to coincide with the Jewish holidays. The Israelis, officials say, moved just hours before the brothers were due to meet two comrades, and while the Awadallahs were killed, the two others remain at large.

Israeli security officials now fear that Hamas, which they think has access to tons of homemade explosives, will launch attacks in revenge.