2023-10-12 03:18:42
Troops on the Gaza border were taken by surprise and “massacred by the dozens in their beds” by Hamas as eleven military bases were overrun as a result of the deadly and massive failure of Israeli intelligence during the raid.
More than 60 soldiers were killed in the first hours of the coordinated assault after drones were used to destroy state-of-the-art surveillance systems, with numbers expected to rise as identities are established. Israeli forces had to blow up a police station with communications equipment after it was captured by Islamist fighters.
Kidnappings
Hamas is estimated to have kidnapped and taken to Gaza about 130 Israelis. Exact numbers are unknown, said Maj. Nir Dinar, an Israeli army officer, due to identification difficulties.
“The problem we face is that the bodies are in an unrecognizable situation because they were murdered and then burned. The terrorists burned the bodies after dismembering them. Many of the bodies are unidentifiable. We have notified 50 families to date that we know their loved ones were kidnapped. I understand that people want answers, but it is difficult to gather information,” she said.
“They caught us”
Hamsa, the elder Dinar said, had achieved what he had been trying to do for 20 years. “They did a good job, they caught us,” he acknowledged. “We have never seen such a successful attempt by Hamas to enter Israel to murder and kidnap civilians and soldiers. Dozens of soldiers massacred in their beds. They didn’t even have time to wake up. And then the terrorists went into the communities and killed people in wheelchairs and children.”
Last weekend’s attack came after the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, in which Israel was also surprised when Arab states attacked on multiple fronts, Major Dinar noted. “To this day we have asked ourselves: how did the Yom Kippur War happen? And now we have this Hamas thing. It was well established, very well planned. And now we have to fight back,” he stated.
The counter attack
A ground attack on Gaza now appears inevitable, on a scale even more destructive than the 2014 Gaza War, which killed more than 2,205 Palestinians, including 1,483 civilians, according to the UN, along with 71 Israelis (66 of them soldiers). in 50 years. days of fighting. The mission would be even more complicated, this time, by the presence of hostages who could be injured or killed in the fighting. There is said to be debate within Israel’s military and intelligence circles over how this should be carried out with calls for surgical operations by special forces to rescue captives.
Maj Dinar, who served in the special forces in the past, said that was not a feasible option: “When a soldier was kidnapped in Gaza in 2006, there was talk of ‘why don’t you send your elite units to Gaza?’ to bring him back?’ Well, if we could, we would have. Look how many hostages we are analyzing now.”
The memory of Gilad Shalit
The kidnapped soldier, Gilad Shalit, was held for five years in Gaza and was released in 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal. Hamas has claimed that four of the hostages were killed in an Israeli bombing. They have threatened to kill captives in response to Israeli bombing of civilians without warning. Gaza’s Health Ministry said 900 people have been killed in the territory since Israeli airstrikes began.
The Israeli military normally sends messages to residents of areas where airstrikes have occurred. However, the deaths have been due to messages arriving too late or confusion over bombing sites, said Abu Ubaida, spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing.
“We have to change reality”
The Israeli government has announced that, once the border areas that had been taken by Hamas have been recovered, the military will enter an offensive phase. Brigadier General Dan Goldfuss told the media: “We have all kinds of different capabilities and angles. “We will have to change the reality in Gaza so that this does not happen again.”
Hamas has declared that it has enough weapons to defend Gaza and return the war to Israel. After warning Ashkelon residents across the border, the Islamist group fired missiles at the city yesterday afternoon. Uzi Rubin, considered the founder of Israel’s missile program, has noted that the Qassam missiles in Hamas’ arsenal cost between $300 and $800 each. The cost of intercepting the missiles using the country’s Iron Dome defense system is estimated to be $100,000 per missile.
The Israeli military remains confident in embarking on a ground war. Major Dinar said: “We will see who wins. I’m sure you know who he is. “Unfortunately, this will cause many, many casualties on both sides.”
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