Why is Israel’s ground offensive against Gaza delayed?
The IDF, the Israeli Defense Forces, continues preparations for a ground invasion that will begin shortly. Israel wants to eliminate all unnecessary risks. They know that many surprises await them and that the battles will be bloody. Hamas must be eliminated is the message.
During the night, intense shelling of Gaza has continued and already more than 2,700 Gazans have been killed. The death toll will increase significantly when the ground invasion starts, not least because Hamas prevents parts of the civilian population from leaving the northern part of Gaza. At the same time, many residents have said they refuse to leave their homes. When the Israeli forces move in, they see every individual as a potential enemy.
Will Israel occupy Gaza?
Biden’s call to Israel not to reoccupy Gaza is likely to be in line with the Israeli plans. It could be a long presence for the Israeli forces. They will stay as long as it takes to finish off Hamas. But when the mission is completed – in a few weeks or months – most likely Israel will withdraw in whole or in part. But the border between Gaza and Israel will be hermetically sealed until further notice.
What will be the hardest parts of a land invasion?
The major challenge for Israel’s armed forces will be to access Hamas in the underground tunnel system. In the past, Israeli forces have destroyed approximately 6,000,000 tunnels in southern Gaza, tunnels that connected Gaza with Egypt. Hamas themselves state that they have approximately 50,000 tunnels and unconfirmed information says that the Hamas command center is located under one of Gaza City’s hospitals.
Israel also has to take into account the approximately 100 Israelis who are being held hostage. At present, we do not know anything about their whereabouts or how they feel physically. Moreover, avoiding large civilian casualties and own Israeli losses will be extremely complicated, something that will increase the demand to stop the attacks and open the country to emergency aid, food, water and medicine.
Is it possible to knock out Hamas?
Hamas’s military and political leadership can be knocked out and paralyzed for many years. But the movement, the ideology, will live on and in the future may grow strong again. And Gaza with more than two million inhabitants must have a leadership. Gazans are hemmed in from all sides and remain abandoned by the outside world. No country wants to accept two million Palestinian refugees.