Israel said over the weekend that it would accelerate its strikes to pressure Hamas. During the night and early morning, the attacks targeted Syria, Gaza and the West Bank.
Israel’s latest attacks in Gaza and Syria are part of the preparation for the start of the ground attack, says the head teacher of the Department of Military Art, Lt. Col. Jarmo Mattila From the National Defense University.
Israel said on Saturday it was stepping up its strikes to increase pressure on Hamas before moving into the next phase of the war.
On the night between Saturday and Sunday, the Israeli air force struck with force the airports of Damascus and Aleppo in Syria.
In northern Gaza, Israel has destroyed high-rise buildings that the Hamas terrorist organization that governs Gaza could use for surveillance and sniper missions.
In the morning, Israel also carried out an airstrike on a mosque in Jenin in the West Bank, where, according to Israel, terrorist attacks were being prepared.
Israel aims to destroy important targets for Hamas before starting the attack, says Mattila.
– For example, leadership and command posts, weapons depots and launch pads are destroyed so that Hamas cannot use them to influence the attacking forces. At the same time, the management of Hamas is made more difficult.
With airport attacks, Israel can try to disrupt Iranian arms deliveries, which may go through Syria to rebel groups, Mattila estimates. When the use of airports is blocked, the transport of equipment or weapons through them stops. Israel has carried out airstrikes on Syria many times before.
A ground attack is expected
Israel has announced that it is planning a large-scale attack on Gaza by land, sea and air, with the aim of destroying Hamas’s military capability. According to Mattila, Israel is probably starting to be ready for the ground attack to begin, but it is still difficult to assess the continuation.
– There is also a political and diplomatic side to this. Hamas still has hostages, and it weighs heavily in Israel as well. You can’t attack blindly.
In addition to Gaza, the situation on Israel’s border with Lebanon has tightened. The Hezbollah extremist organization that controls southern Lebanon and supports Hamas has said it is ready to join Hamas against Israel. There has been a firefight on the border since the attack by Hamas, and Israel has evacuated its citizens from the northern border.
– When planning a ground attack, Israel has to take into account the situation on the Lebanese border, and certainly the vast majority of the troops established by Israel will be taken there specifically to prepare for the threat from the north, says Mattila.
The violence in Gaza flared up at the beginning of October, when the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas unexpectedly launched a large-scale attack on Israel. follows the events of the Gaza war in this updated story.