Israeli diplomat Tammy Ben-Haim on Wednesday said Israel’s priority is to devastate Hamas so much that the militant group doesn’t think of ever striking the country again. Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are laying a siege on Gaza and have blocked water, fuel, internet and electricity to the blockaded coastal enclave.
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“We need to make sure that we devastate Hamas so much, we hurt their infrastructure, we hurt their commanders that they will not think of ever striking Israel again,” the consul general of Israel to south India said while speaking to ANI.
Israel confirmed that it hit dozens of Hamas targets during the night. The IDF claimed to have destroyed “advanced detection systems” that Hamas used to spot military aircraft. They said that over 80 Hamas targets were hit in the Beit Hanoun area of the northeastern Gaza Strip. They said two bank branches were also targeted as they were used by the terrorists to fund terrorism in Gaza.
However, a ground invasion will be different from the airstrikes. Two journalists, Frank Gardner of the BBC and Ben Wedeman of the CNN highlighted several important points which show that it will not be an easy task.
Gardner points to the tensions between Hamas and Israel in 2014 when the IDF invaded Gaza leading to the deaths of more than 2,000 Palestinians. He says each death was used to radicalise more young Gazan men which has only exacerbated the conflict.
He also highlights that the topography of Gaza Strip will only make it complicated for the IDF as the big tanks that Israel will be rolling into Gaza, will only find themselves trapped in the city which is one of the world’s most densely populated cities.
“A densely populated piece of territory is no place for tanks, which would be highly vulnerable to ambush,” BBC’s Gardner writes. He urges for a lasting peace deal but says the ground invasion can only bring short-term success as most of Hamas’s commanders would be eliminated.
CNN’s Wedeman also shares the same concern. In a report, the journalist who went on the ground to cover what Israel dubbed “Operation Cast Lead” in 2009, Wedeman says Israel’s main tactic is to move quickly, take control of as much territory as possible, but avoid street-to-street, house-to-house fighting as Hamas would have a better idea of the terrain.
He says in Gaza it is not just Hamas but groups like Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and others could mount a serious resistance.
He also says that Hamas’ military capability which was on full display during the weekend is far more stronger than previously imagined. They could be very well prepared for a prolonged conflict.
Human Cost
The journalist also pointed to the human cost of war. He says inside the Gaza Strip it is not just Hamas militants but also regular Palestinian citizens.
They have been told to leave for Egypt but the average Palestinian is also fighting for their rights against Israel whom they call ‘occupiers’. It is unlikely that all Palestinians will heed to Israeli calls for evacuation.
This could complicate the hostage rescue plans that Israel has. Over 150 people are being held hostage by Hamas and they are inside Gaza.
Wedeman says that no one outside Hamas knows where they are kept but they could also be kept inside crowded refugee camps. An attack in a refugee camp may come at a huge cost. An air raid on the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp on Tuesday led to the death of 15 people.
Israel probably expects more deaths in Gaza and has said the pictures coming out of Gaza will be “difficult”. Israel Defense Force (IDF) Spokesperson Lieutenant Col. Jonathan Conricus expressed hope that the support from around the world remains unwavering, even as the “scenes coming out of the Gaza Strip will be more difficult to cope with.”