a live battle, they broadcast images and videos of sophisticated bombs and improvised devices. Everything is worth it. Israel posted a tweet on Thursday night where announced the start of the land offensive on Gaza, then denied it by apologizing. But in the meantime the news had been relaunched by the international media. An error? According to a reconstruction it would have been a lure to push enemy bosses to hide in bunkers and then eliminate them with heavy bombardments.
The galleries
The destruction of the large network of tunnels created over time by the Palestinian factions has become a priority for the Israelis. Initially they were used for trafficking under the border with Egypt – vital passages for everything, including war material -, then they are become an instrument of defense and offense. They have to protect the commanders, they become posts from which to hire soldiers, they are used in the north to infiltrate Jewish territory. At each round of the conflict there has always been the phase of hunting tunnels.
The development of the arsenal
Hamas, along with other organizations, has followed an evolution. At the beginning of the 2000s it relied on the Kassam, rudimentary means, little more than pipes equipped with explosives, with a range of a few kilometers. When Yasser Arafat was asked for a comment about these weapons, he shrugged, talked about fireworks. However, they had a tactical and political value as it allowed the guerrillas to strike – blindly – in Israel. Just enough (and that’s it) to sow terror and create pressure. After twenty years the picture is the same, only the range and power have changed. The formations have created their arsenal in two ways. The first. Iran and Hezbollah have provided complete rockets and technology to improve them; aid conducted through clandestine tunnels leading to Egypt or through smuggling by sea. In past years they had created a network that came from Sudan and Sinai, pipeline then blocked by Israeli covert actions. The second one. Palestinian workers have learned to build them using leftovers, civil materials, scrap, metals. They were assisted by local elements in contact with others abroad, who became – the latter – the target of a couple of murders by the Mossad (in Tunisia and Malaysia).
Israel and Gaza, the insights
Thousands of pieces
According to the experts at least 30,000 pieces are kept in the Gaza deposits. Hence a high rate of fire. An analyst quoted by New York Times pointed out that in the first 24 hours of the conflict 470 bullets of various types were fired while in the 2012 crisis there were 312 and in 2014 192. And it does not matter if they are not precise, they still achieve the purpose. They force people into shelters, they can lead Israel to missteps, they make victims. Meanwhile, the Palestinians continue to update production, two days ago there would have been the baptism of fire for the Ayyash 250, with a range of 250 kilometers, dedicated to a famous leader. The groups also employed explosive drones that are a copy of an Iranian model, further proof of the close collaboration.
The shield
Israel relies on Iron Dome anti-missile shield. effective, expensive – 50 thousand dollars for each device – for submerged by the gusts, about 2,000 rockets fired. impossible to stop the progressive and continuous wave. Heavy raids with fighters and drones. The targets are the launch positions, the crew of crews, the officers. But the distinction between military and civilian targets in a restricted area such as relative Gaza, the consequences are serious for civilians. And the moment arrives in this never-ending confrontation that Israel must consider a land offensive with tanks, armored vehicles, soldiers and mobilization of reservists (for now 9,000). the less appreciated option by the General Staff which in recent years has preferred to rely on missions from afar using ad hoc equipment, in particular aviation. So he hit hundreds of sites in Syria. Entering the strip involves losses, an invasion into a densely populated area, does not guarantee success. Furthermore, for the guerrillas – who fear a hammer blow – it is enough to capture a prisoner to force the opponent into unwanted negotiations.
May 14, 2021 (change May 14, 2021 | 22:38)
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED