Experts expect the number of casualties to be high: will there now be bitter house-to-house fighting?

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“What was in Gaza will no longer exist”: With these words, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (64) announced a ground offensive by the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. What awaits the soldiers in the Gaza Strip? Two experts estimate it.

“After Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack on Israel, this offensive will take on a new category,” says Stephan Stetter (51), who teaches international politics and conflict research at the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich (D), with certainty. Military expert Michel Wyss of ETH Zurich sums up: “If there is a ground offensive, Israel will use a large number of heavy assets, i.e. main battle tanks, armored bulldozers and other armored clearance vehicles, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles.” This may involve ground troops receiving support from the air and sea.

For Israel, there are two main objectives in the ground offensive. First: the weakening of Hamas. The Palestinian terrorist organization should no longer be able to harm Israel to the extent it did this weekend. Israeli politicians are now faced with the question of whether this means the complete destruction of Hamas. According to Wyss, this goal can probably only be achieved with a full occupation of the Gaza Strip.

Second: the liberation of the many hostages. The latter makes the ground offensive even more complex because, in addition to Israelis, the abductees also include many people from other countries. Countries such as Germany, Thailand and Australia expect Israel to liberate its citizens. “The large number of hostages in Hamas’s control could make a difference compared to previous ground offensives by the Israeli army,” Stetter said. Hamas has never kidnapped so many people. “That’s a whole different bargaining chip!” Michel Wyss estimates that the chances of freeing all hostages by force are slim.

Stetter assumes that the ground offensive will last several weeks. Hamas is well organized and positioned militarily. The Israeli soldiers have to operate in a confined space in the Gaza Strip. “Gaza is extremely densely populated. The Hamas fighters will also spread to residential areas,” Stetter said. Andrew Galer, a former British officer who now works as an analyst for the private agency Janes, spoke to the AFP agency about a “360-degree battlefield in which the threat lurks everywhere.”

Meaning: Bitter house-to-house fighting awaits the Israelis. Traps, ambushes and roadblocks could cause problems for the Israelis. Moreover, “Hamas will also use the tunnel system under Gaza for its own benefit. In recent days, tunnels have come to light that Israel knew nothing about.” ETH expert Michel Wyss therefore expects “larger numbers of casualties on the Israeli side” compared to previous ground offensives.

There is no escape for them. Israel has closed the Gaza Strip and the border crossing to Egypt in Rafah has also been closed. “Hamas is playing a cynical game with civilians. “The well-being of the Palestinian population has not been taken into account,” Stetter emphasizes.

Source: Blick