According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel appears to be getting ready for the next stage of its military operation, a ground plan to” lover and destroy” Hamas.
Israel has indicated that if Hamas releases more hostages, it might be inclined to postpone an war but not completely stop it. However, that implies that an invasion is still very good, which calls into question whether Israel is ready for what might be a protracted, drawn-out battle as well as how Hamas has planned for an offensive on the ground.
Israel has previously launched harmful, lethal, and expensive earth assaults into the Gaza Strip. Operation Cast Lead, the most recent major ground plan, took place over a three-week time from December 2008 to January 2009.
The Israeli government claims that operation was started to attack the Hamas infrastructure, which made it possible for the organization to launch extremist and rocket attacks against Israel. Thousands of Israeli soldiers engaged Hamas fighters in that war, and on January 17, 2009, Israel declared a cease-fire. Some reports claim that operation resulted in at least 13 Israeli military fatalities, 600 – 700 Hamas deaths, and more than 1,400 Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza.
Israeli businesses in Gaza have primarily consisted of attacks against Hamas, hitting goals in the Gaza Strip, since that issue and up until the horrifying Gaza episodes of October 7, 2023. Israel has intensified attacks in response to the attacks of October 7 and has also gathered forces, tank, and other supplies along its border with Gaza.
The global community anticipates a ground invasion as well. If civilians aren’t adequately protected, an Israeli ground operation could” backfire ,” according to former US president Barack Obama.
Hamas has been secretive about its own specifics, but it claims that it has prepared for the attacks of October 7 as well as for an Israeli floor strategy, including taking action outside the Gaza Strip in the event of an invasion, with Persian support.
As a former senior official in the US government’s intelligence and counterterrorism division who presently teaches about those subjects and national security, I anticipate that battle will be fierce once it starts.
In contrast to the more limited engagements Israel has attempted in Gaza up to this point, the issue will probably match big urban fighting, comparable to other conflicts in the Middle East over the past 20 years against Kurdish militants and the Islamic State group.
For martial designers and the soldiers who must fight there for a variety of reasons, combat operations in crowded industrial settings are among the most difficult. The actual environment is compact, with above-ground structures or underground networks that give fighters plenty of places to attack, hide, or move without being seen.
Military units must pass through some tight spaces, such as streets or streets. There are also a lot of citizens who are not combatants present. Perhaps the best-trained forces may find it difficult to achieve their goals while reducing their risk due to these factors.
There is nowhere for Hamas to get
Israel claims to have killed more than 1,500 soldiers during the days immediately following the attacks on October 7, but according to its government, Hamas most likely has tens of thousands more well-armed combatants in Gaza.
In the event of an invasion by Israel, Hamas soldiers have nowhere to turn. Only a few gaps at the Rafah crossing with Egypt allow for the entry of humanitarian aid, and the show’s edges with Israel are still sealed.
The head of the UN World Food Program, Cindy McCain, recently issued a warning that the ongoing Jewish blockade of Gaza has put the country’s human population in grave danger. However, Egypt has been hesitant to let individuals pass, citing both humanitarian and international policy issues.
It is very likely that Hamas did decide to stand and repel an Israeli war because he has nowhere to go. Then, Hamas will probably employ death intruders and the tools it already has and you create, such as rocket-propelled grenades, automated weapons, mortars, and snipers.
Additionally, Hamas has constructed a vast network of underground caves throughout Gaza that its fighters will use to go and hide. Hamas will benefit from the Israeli air battle since October 7 as well because it has damaged structures and left behind piles of debris that have not yet been removed, making it challenging for Israeli forces to move above ground.
Because Hamas kidnapped lots of victims on October 7 and their sites are unknown, Israel may experience additional political and humanitarian challenges. Jewish problems may harm or kill anyone who is still there, even if some are released before an intrusion. Additionally, in order to operate in a very tiny actual area with intense fighting, rescue operations would need precise intelligence and cautious military planning.
Israeli forces have never encountered these circumstances frequently or for very much in the past, but army from other countries have.
The conflict in Fallujah
In Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004 and 2005, tens of thousands of US Marines and soldiers from other countries participated in an global coalition to fight Kurdish militants as well as al-Qaeda people.
The US and allied troops suffered heavy casualties while dealing those enemies substantial losses.
At least 200 al-Qaida or Syrian rebels were killed or injured in the first war of Fallujah in first 2004, along with an unknown number of civilians who died or were injured. 38 US soldiers were also killed and at least 90 were wounded.
After in 2004, at the second Battle of Fallujah, US soldiers lost 38 soldiers and sustained 275 injuries, with between 1,000 and 1,500 rebels dead and injured. These two industrial conflicts accounted for the majority of US troops during the Iraq War.
Additionally, a large portion of Fallujah, which had once been home to 250, 000 people, was destroyed, necessitating extensive restoration work before residents could return. In the mid-2010s, however, the Islamic State group also emerged and engaged the Syrian government it.
In places like Baghouz and Raaqa, Syria, and Mosul, Iraq, soldiers from the Islamic State group known as ISIS were defeated ten years later by US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian army. Tens of thousands of ISIS soldiers were killed or taken prisoner as a result of those battles. After losing control of any province, the survivors fled into hiding.
The Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian army suffered significant deficits in these industrial ground insurgencies against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, totaling more than 1,000 each. Due to the intensity of the urban conflict and its vicinity to regular folks trying to live their lives, human deaths and injuries also occurred in large quantities, just like in the battles in Fallujah.
Israel’s lessons to learn?
Marine Lieutenant General James Glynn and other military advisors were sent to Israel by the Pentagon in soon October 2023 to discuss the strategy for a floor operation in Gaza.
Glynn participated in the Battle of Fallujah and provided guidance to the Iraqi government in its conflict with the Islamic State group in Mosul. Based on his knowledge in protracted industrial battle, he was expected to provide suggestions for reducing civilian casualties.
Nobody has a precise idea of how things may develop over the next few weeks. The ensuing battle between the Israeli army and Hamas will almost certainly be harsh and challenging if Israel does certainly launch a ground campaign.
Honest Palestinians who have remained in Gaza’s northern region and are now traveling to the southern end of the remove, where humanitarian help and relief are starting to appear, will be among the great number of casualties on all fronts.
The ensuing industrial conflicts might mirror those in Fallujah in the middle of the 2000s or ISIS standoffs from ten years ago.
University of Michigan Associate Professor of Practice of Public Policy Javed Ali
Under a Creative Commons license, this essay has been republished from The Conversation. read the article in its entirety.