Following the terrorist attack by the radical Islamist Hamas on October 7, the Israeli army expanded its ground attacks against the terrorists this weekend. In recent weeks, the Israeli air force has increasingly bombed terrorist positions. Columns of smoke pile up in the sky above Gaza City, houses collapse, people try to find their relatives under the rubble.
There has been much speculation in recent weeks about whether the Israeli army will launch a large-scale ground offensive on the Gaza Strip. On Saturday evening, the armed forces announced that they would intensify their ground operations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that “the second phase of the war” had begun. “This is our second war of independence, humanity’s war against evil,” he said.
In this phase of the war, ground troops from Israel are staying in the Gaza Strip for the first time for a longer period of time. Previously, the army repeatedly conducted targeted operations in the area, but then repeatedly retreated into Israeli territory.
The ground offensive has de facto begun. Israel is not attacking the Gaza Strip from all sides, but is combing through it piece by piece from the north. So far, information on the extent of ground operations has been difficult. According to the Israeli army, around 150 Hamas tunnels and bunkers were attacked between Friday and Saturday. The offensive actions on the ground would be carried out by infantry, engineer corps and artillery, the report said.
We declare our first mechanized attack on Gaza and the security situation in the north, as anti-Semitism rises on American campuses and American cities. Of @greta on @NEWSMAX pic.twitter.com/zHVHewBdyr
— Jonathan Conricus (@jconricus) October 27, 2023
The ground offensive was previously postponed
According to media reports, the US had repeatedly called for a postponement of the ground offensive against the backdrop of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The delay was intended to allow talks on the release of hostages.
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is becoming increasingly dramatic. Hamas fuels people’s suffering by setting up positions in civilian institutions, mosques or schools. Positions that the Islamists have been able to further strengthen in recent days.
The now expanded attacks are a sensitive mission for Israel. The soldiers must prepare for bloody house-to-house fighting. The Hamas terrorists were able to prepare for Israel’s attack for years. Unlike Israeli soldiers, they are intimately familiar with the narrow streets of Gaza City – and can attack the army not only from above and from the side, but also from below through a tunnel system.
This military nightmare is complicated by the political dilemma the Israelis now find themselves in: gruesome images are likely to emerge from the Gaza Strip in the coming days, not least because Hamas is using civilians as living shields.
International pressure on Israel to prevent civilian casualties will increase again. That is why Israeli leaders wanted to give civilians the opportunity to flee the combat zone. Hamas, on the other hand, seemed to want to prevent or at least delay this escape.
Can the hostages be rescued?
To make matters worse, more than 200 hostages are still being held by Hamas. Israel may still have hoped to free the people Hamas had kidnapped into Gaza. The fear in the now expanded offensive operations is that the terrorists could also use the abductees in battle, similar to how they use other civilians as protective shields.
Israel has done a lot in the past to free hostages. The expansion of the ground attack makes it much less likely that the kidnapped people will be released. Two women were recently released by Hamas. One of the former hostages said after her release: “I have been through hell.”
“The ground offensive is not a retaliatory attack”
The danger to the hostages could be a reason why the ground attack was postponed. On the other hand, an offensive also brings enormous challenges for the well-equipped Israeli army. “There will be civilian casualties and it will be a challenge for Israel to communicate this,” Christian Mölling, military expert at the German Council for Foreign Relations (DGAP), told t-online. “The ground offensive against Hamas is not a retaliatory attack, but Israel wants to prevent future attacks.”
That is why the Israeli leadership is now increasingly moving into the Gaza Strip. Israel shunned Hamas’s terrorist attack because house-to-house fighting in the narrow streets is a scenario the Israeli army actually wanted to avoid.
With its 2.2 million inhabitants, the Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Narrow streets, accessible roofs, the buildings have small windows: a nightmare for any attacker.
Moreover, the terrorists will force the Israeli army into a guerrilla war. Hamas has no uniforms and it is difficult to distinguish men from civilians. When one of the men puts down his gun, he is no longer recognizable as a terrorist. Hamas can therefore go into hiding and has an extensive tunnel system under the Gaza Strip. The terrorist organization has also been in control of the Gaza Strip since 2007. It is supported by large parts of the population because the structural ties are now very deep-rooted.
A war with heavy casualties is likely
Ambushes, mines, booby traps. Russian Kornet anti-tank guided missiles could also pose a deadly threat to the Israeli army. The Israelis will have to deal with all this; they will have to accept heavy losses.
In the 2014 attack on the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army suffered significant losses despite advancing only a few kilometers. During a brief battle in Shujaya, a suburb of Gaza City, thirteen Israeli soldiers were killed in an ambush. In the past, terrorists always seemed to want to lure the Israeli army into urban areas. There the attacker is at a disadvantage – despite air superiority.
Both parties have been preparing for this scenario for years. Hamas trained guerrilla tactics in Gaza and is believed to have been armed by Iran. The Israeli army also trained for an emergency on an area of 24 hectares. At the Tzeelim army base she recreated an Arab city with a market square, minarets, tunnels and narrow streets for training purposes.
Does Israel occupy the entire Gaza Strip?
This is Hamas’ treacherous tactic: it started the war, but now that civilians are dying in Gaza, the Islamists are hoping for a reversal of perpetrator and victim. Experts see this as the next challenge for Israel. Pressure on Israel’s leadership is likely to increase internationally as the people of Gaza suffer.
Things would become even more dangerous for Israel if the country were threatened with war on multiple fronts. “The Israeli army is militarily superior to Hamas. But the Lebanese Hezbollah could become a challenge because Israel is currently not preparing for fighting on two fronts,” military expert Mölling explained to t-online. However, in this emergency situation, a US fleet, including an aircraft carrier, would be ready to intervene in the eastern Mediterranean. The US leadership wants to warn all groups in the region not to get involved.
But in any case, the risk of a wildfire is real.
The Israeli army is thus engaged in an extremely dangerous mission, and it is unclear what the ultimate goal of the Israeli leadership will be. “After this war, the Middle East will no longer be what it once was,” says Mölling. “The question is whether Israel wants to permanently occupy the Gaza Strip or not.” How far Israel will go in expanding its ground operations remains to be seen.
(lak/t-online)
Used sources:
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
