2023-10-27 17:44:35
The publication Tehnowar addresses one of the two issues why the announced invasion of the Israeli army (IDF) in Gaza is postponed every day: these are mainly the losses that the Israeli army could face. The other factor is represented by the US which is worried that a further misstep will trigger a war involving other regional forces. Thus, the ground operation is imminent, but its modalities depend on the expected resistance, and not on humanitarian considerations:
The whole world is frozen in front of the announced but constantly postponed invasion by the Israeli army (IDF) in Gaza, portending an increase in the number of victims and far-reaching devastation in the Strip.
There is no doubt that, in addition to the ongoing individual raids, the main operation will soon begin, however, its modalities may vary. These modalities are not dictated by the goodwill or humanitarian considerations of Israel and its US allies, but are instead determined by the expected resistanceespecially if the conflict spreads beyond the region’s borders.
From your side Washington exercises restrictive control over Netanyahu, but will do so only until sufficient force potential is accumulated to spark a regional conflict.
US Special Forces and advisors led by General J. Glynn at the IDF
The IDF and the White House are ready to consider a short-term ceasefire in Gaza only to allow the evacuation of people with American passports, after which no interruption of military operations is expected. This intention was highlighted by the US vote at the United Nations Security Council. In this context, an example of moral complexity at multiple levels emerges. There is a lower rung represented by the Palestinians, above them are the Israelis, and even higher are those who hold Western passports, with particular emphasis on “American passports” receiving special consideration. This attitude is partly influenced by the upcoming elections in the United States, where there is a need to demonstrate “concern for our compatriots”.
Descent into one of the Hamas tunnels
Against the backdrop of a semi-destroyed Gaza, from which hundreds of thousands of people have already fled, the IDF commanders and their numerous Pentagon advisors However, they are increasingly worried about why among them there are no militants in uniform (Hamas has one) and with weapons. The answer is simple: they are waiting in the wings in the basements and tunnels dug under the entire sector. American officials simply recommend that military teams not invade until specific targets are discovered and detailed plans developed to destroy them. Evaluating Israel’s bombing of Gaza only from the point of view of efficiency and not morality, they are not inclined to trust official reports on the destruction of Hamas’ military infrastructure. According to the Americans, the military wing of this organization is still quite combat-ready and we should expect several surprises from it “from the underground”.
Hamas militiamen in hiding
Assessing Hamas’s tunnel infrastructure and supply stockpiles, experts note that its fighters they can find refuge underground for long periods of time, fighting both within these tunnels and raiding from them. This is where Hamas stores strategic weapons and holds its hostages. The tunnels are a key element of Hamas’ military strategy and their length can be tens, if not hundreds of kilometers, extending beyond Gaza into southern Israel and even into the sea. The tunnels contain generators, fuel reserves, ventilation, autonomous wired communications, and numerous traps. They provide Hamas with the operational and tactical flexibility that the group lacks on the surface. The total number of militants present, armed with light weapons, grenade launchers, mortars, various types of rockets, high explosive devices, according to various sources, it varies from 25 to 40 thousand people, mainly from the Al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas and the Al-Quds Brigades » Islamic Jihad.
The IDF has specialized units for both urban and underground warfare. It also has special equipment for these types of warfare, some of which is produced locally, some of which is supplied by the United States. But according to experts, “Until he sends his units underground and engages in close combat, Israeli soldiers will not know what awaits them.” All this specialized underground equipment – for breathing, for observation, for navigation, for shooting, for communication – fails very easily in the conditions of a real “battle in the tunnels”. And this doesn’t even take into account possible retaliatory measures by Hamas. “Just as the Israelis prepared for such a battle, Hamas also prepared, and for many years.”
The IDF is ready to attack, but they will have to enter the tunnels one by one
US advisors have doubts about all the optimistic ideas that have been heard recently in Israel, which is still wary of the unpredictability of the “underground battles”, to flood the tunnel system with sea water in the sector where they are hostages were also held. Therefore considering these plans difficult to implement. They call on their creators to more carefully develop more realistic plans for the operation. The very lack of an adequate plan on the part of Israel, according to some experts, suggests that from the beginning the leadership sought only the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, and not the establishment of any military hands control over it. This is also demonstrated by the idea of “flooding” the tunnel network with sea water, because in this case the territory of Gaza will simply become uninhabitable.
IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari: “Here we will fill”
Former head of the field research department of the IDF Southern Command and now professor of geology Joel Roskin, in fact, the leading Israeli expert on “underground warfare in the Gaza Strip and the complexity of the military struggle in it,” underlined the difficulties of the upcoming operation. Since 2009, he said, as part of its holistic approach, Hamas has switched to strategic use of the underground and has dug some 35 offensive tunnels under the line established by the 1949 armistice with Israel, some of which penetrate hundreds of meters into the Jewish state.
These tunnels are not just long transit routes from one point to another, but rather complex multi-story underground caves and tunnels with rooms, corridors and warehouses. Gaza developed a “tunnel culture” that included educational visits by elementary and high school students, wedding photographs and visits to the underground tunnel system. It can be assumed that a vast network of multi-storey tunnels, perhaps several hundred kilometers long, extends beneath the Gaza Strip. The means of support, communication, nutrition and even human permanence within it “are close to perfection”.
Joel Roskin
Roskin believes that searching for such tunnels, even with the most advanced equipment, is “somewhat useless,” since their airspace, compared to the underground environment, has a very small cross-section, whose width and height usually do not exceed one or two meters respectivelythe. Additionally, to activate detection, you must be on the ground directly above or inside the tunnel itself. Another approach to detecting tunnels is to look for signs of construction, maintenance and surface activity, such as mounds of soil. But Hamas has always paid due attention to their elimination. As Roskin concluded, “These conditions pose a challenge to a full-fledged IDF offensive operation.”
To descend into the tunnels and conduct combat operations inside them, a psychophysiological attitude is also important. The militants, for example, seem to have already fully adapted. Thus, the representative of the Al-Quds Brigades, Abu Hamza, addressed Israel: “After defeating you in your own state, what do you think will happen when you come to us? We have prepared our people who love death for the sake of Allah as much as you love life. So welcome to the gates of hell.” In other words, heavy losses on both sides cannot be avoided in such a scenario. The best solution to get out of this situation would obviously be to return to the negotiating table, if this is still possible.
fonte: Tehnowar
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