Exactly a month ago, the world held its breath. Israeli territory was no longer impenetrable, Hamas fighters had managed to deceive the vigilance of the security forces, cross the border and commit the worst terrorist attack ever experienced by the inhabitants of the Hebrew state. One month after this bloody incursion which left 1,400 dead, one month after this declaration of war, the Israeli army launched its ground operation in the Gaza Strip with several objectives, including that of eliminating the armed wing of Hamas.
Where are we with this offensive? What are the difficulties encountered by the Israeli army? Is the operation likely to drag on? What objectives has Israel set for itself? Elements of response with Pierre Razoux, academic director of the Mediterranean Foundation for Strategic Studies (FMES) and author of Tsahal: new history of the Israeli army, and with Jean-Loup Samaan, associate researcher at the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri).
Where is the ground operation deployed in Gaza by the Israeli army?
The operation launched by Israel in response to the attack on its soil began with daily bombings on the Gaza Strip before incursions, one-off raids, carried out mainly by Israeli special forces in the main city of the Gaza Strip. Palestinian enclave since October 26. “The bombings constituted the preliminary phase,” specifies Jean-Loup Samaan. From now on, urban fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas fighters is taking place in a ruined and probably trapped city. “This is why the Israeli army is progressing in a cautious and meticulous manner,” adds Pierre Razoux.
Today, the Israeli army has “split the Gaza Strip into several sections, locked down the siege of Gaza City, destroyed several military infrastructures and eliminated a significant number of leaders of the armed wing of Hamas,” explains Pierre. Razoux. In the last 24 hours, “more than 450 Hamas targets were struck, including terrorists, military complexes, observation posts, anti-tank missile launch points,” thus assert the Israeli forces on social networks. But it’s hard to know how much Hamas has been weakened as it continues to launch rockets at Israel.
How is the tunnel war being prepared?
It is a methodical offensive which is being developed by the Israeli forces, especially since the bowels of Gaza City are also part of the battlefield. The approximately 1,300 tunnels, according to a figure put forward by BFMTV, complicate the task of the military because they have to fight on several levels: “the ground, the basement, in the buildings and on the roofs, it’s a bit like if you had four chessboards superimposed one on top of the others,” illustrates Pierre Razoux. The strikes launched on the city and its civilians are thus justified by Israel by the preventive destruction of this underground labyrinth in order to “limit the battle underground as much as possible”, continues Pierre Razoux.
The war of attrition is underway, and will serve in particular to “force Hamas fighters to come out of the tunnels with the idea that material capacities will be exhausted, it is a long-term campaign that has begun”, explains Jean-Loup Samaan. This strategy often serves the party that has the most capabilities, recalls the researcher, in this case, Israel. Because the fighting in these tunnels is “more complicated for the Israeli forces, they are to the advantage of the defense which knows the places better and can more easily hide there”, underlines Jean-Loup Samaan.
What are Israel’s objectives?
With the war of attrition, the risk is that the operation will drag on for months. “When we wanted to eliminate Daesh, it lasted six months in Mosul [Irak] and four months in Raqqa [Syrie] », Compares Pierre Razoux. However, Israel is also under pressure from the international community which is calling for a ceasefire, or at least a truce. And if for the moment the United States “ensures that Israel is able to carry out its campaign successfully, it will be more difficult to maintain if it continues over three or six months,” warns Jean-Loup Samaan. Especially since historically, the wars waged by Israel are short, even flashy. Today, it is also difficult to know when the Israeli authorities will declare their objectives achieved and thus their victory.
On this issue, Benjamin Netanyahu promised: Hamas will be destroyed by Israel. This is the primary objective of the military operation, but not the only one. “In addition to wanting to eliminate the armed wing of Hamas, as well as the entire military and logistical infrastructure, Israel also intends to release the hostages, alive or dead, as well as to enhance the dissuasive strategic posture of the Israeli army affected by the failure of the start of the war in order to dissuade those who might be tempted to extend the conflict in the region,” analyzes Pierre Razoux. But the elimination of Hamas is an absolute objective with rather vague contours and, moreover, this question in suspense: what next? “At some point, we will have to negotiate and resolve the Palestinian question,” says Pierre Razoux.