Olli Ruohomäki, the visiting leading expert of the Foreign Policy Institute, estimates that the start of the Israeli ground attack has been delayed because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has started to think about the cause-and-effect relationship of the attack.
The start of a possible Israeli ground attack in Gaza has been expected for more than two weeks, but it can still be assumed that one will begin.
This is the opinion of Finland’s ambassador to Israel Nina Nordström in the morning and Ykkösaamu on Monday. According to him, the atmosphere in Tel Aviv is expectant.
– The Israelis widely support a ground attack. They hope that the country will defeat the terrorist organization Hamas and that they will be able to return to their homes in kibbutzim and villages near Gaza, further south from here in Tel Aviv, Nordström said about the atmosphere.
Nordström reminds that the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu heads the war cabinet, which also includes part of the country’s opposition. Such a setup guarantees the prime minister strong support from the citizens.
– At the moment, Israel is very united.
Ahead of a brutal infantry battle?
Visiting leading expert of the Foreign Policy Institute Olli Ruohomäki estimates that the start of the ground attack has been delayed because Netanyahu has begun to consider the cause-and-effect relationship of the attack.
– Netanyahu has the option to either attack, de-escalate or seriously start hostage negotiations, Ruohomäki listed.
Even Ruohomäki still estimates that the ground attack is finally coming.
The main teacher of naval training at the National Defense University Anssi Munkki reasoned that a ground attack would be difficult once launched. According to Munk, attacking the Gaza Strip would give the defender plenty of options.
– Israel will probably aim for a quick operation, but the defender will be able to cause severe losses. There will be a lot of losses on both sides and unfortunately also for civilians and bystanders, Munkki said.
According to Munk, Israel’s modern military equipment no longer plays a major role in the settlement center battle. The struggle for settlement centers is foreign and difficult even for Israelis.
– The distances between the combatants become shorter, it (the battle) turns into a brutal infantry battle, where you fight man against man at short distances.
Watch the whole conversation in ‘s morning: