Occupied Jerusalem – At a time when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterates that the Israeli occupation army, which has penetrated the Gaza Strip for more than a month and a half, is extending its security control in the northern Gaza Strip, and is about to undermine the military power and arsenal of the Hamas movement, ground field developments, fierce battles, and factional shelling have come. The Israeli depth of resistance to refute Netanyahu’s claims that he is trying to market to the Israeli public.
In reference to the weakness and inaccuracy of the Prime Minister’s claims, and even the army’s failure to achieve the declared goals of the war, such as dismantling Hamas and destroying the tunnel network, estimates by the military level, as expressed by Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy, indicated that the army needs at least a month in order to tighten control and eliminate… On the militants in the northern Gaza Strip.
Israeli Minister Yoav Galant also indicated that achieving the goals of the incursion into the Khan Yunis area and the Jabalia camp may take time until the end of next January. The statements of Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz carried within them messages that the war may last a long time, and that the progress of battles is slow and the army… He did not achieve his goals, telling the Israeli newspaper Maariv, “We do not set time. We must give the Israeli army the time it needs.”
These statements and positions were consistent with analyzes by military correspondents in the Israeli media, who several times accompanied the army forces penetrating into the northern Gaza Strip. The analyzes unanimously agreed that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has not been broken or disintegrated, and that the resistance forces are responding with fierce battles and violent clashes to the Israeli forces penetrating on the ground. .
Signs of wear, no breakage
Yedioth Ahronoth’s military affairs and security correspondent, Yossi Yehoshua, believes that the many losses and painful stories on the Israeli side reflect the reality of ground battles in Gaza, which would affect Israeli awareness regarding the war in the future.
The military correspondent explained that despite Galant and Halevy’s statements regarding “signs of failure” of the Hamas movement, a senior Israeli army officer present in the ground incursions into Gaza said that “it is more correct to talk about signs of erosion and not any signs of collapse or signs of undermining.”
For example, Yehoshua says, “There is stubborn fighting from three Hamas battalions that chose not to withdraw to the south, and continued to engage in fierce battles in the north, which are the areas over which the army announced tight control, where the armed forces of the factions are still gathering above and below the ground in the north.” Gaza, which poses an operational challenge to the Israeli army.
According to Yehoshua’s estimates, “the scenario of success in Khan Yunis will not solve the Rafah problem, and this success is a basic necessity to stop the smuggling of weapons from Egypt. In this area south of Rafah, Hamas does not have trained forces, but the Egyptians are pressuring Israel so that it does not operate there militarily.” In anticipation of the displacement and migration of Gazans to Rafah, Egypt.
A different field reality
The same reading was reviewed by the military correspondent for the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper website, Yoav Zeitoun, who recently accompanied the Israeli ground forces advancing towards Khan Yunis, pointing out that the field reality and the fierce battles are completely different from the statements of the political level, as well as the assessments of the military level, which say that “there are signs of To disintegrate Hamas.
Zaitoun explained that the militants are waging strong battles and clashes even in the northern Gaza Strip, the area that the army penetrated and announced that it had taken control of. He said, “These places are still witnessing clashes, as the Israeli forces are engaged in difficult combat battles at a time when field progress seemed very slow.”
The military correspondent recalled the Beit Hanoun area in the northern Gaza Strip, which is still witnessing battles and clashes, despite the army’s claim that it has “purged” it of militants. It is an area where the strongest Hamas forces are not present, which means that the army needs months to eliminate the cells. armed forces in such areas.
Hamas army in Gaza
Zaitoun stated that the Israeli forces in some areas “overtook the armed forces of Hamas and refrained from clashing or entering into battles with them,” which is what happened in many areas in Nusseirat, Bureij, and Deir al-Balah, where there is one Hamas fighting brigade that continues to fire rockets toward Israeli towns.
The same spokesman pointed out that statements by politicians and military personnel in Tel Aviv stating that “Hamas is showing signs of disintegration” paves the way for the public narrative in Israel, and in the field and battlefield: “The Israeli army is amazed every day by the extent of the strength and military capability that Hamas enjoys in the Gaza Strip, which has become A real army It is only 50 kilometers away from Tel Aviv“.
Big question mark
For his part, the military correspondent for the newspaper “Maariv”, Tal Lev Ram, went far with the scenario that the Israeli forces would soon finish the phase of operational control over the last strongholds of the Hamas brigades in the northern Gaza Strip in Shujaiya and Jabalia, pointing out that the army’s main effort would be directed towards Khan Yunis. And perhaps to the center of the Strip, he added, “while a big question mark remains about how to deal with Rafah.”
The military correspondent explained that military dealings with the south and Rafah expose Israel to many challenges, especially since there are many dilemmas related to the wave of displacement of Gazans, as well as the framework of military activity in the south, and how to deal with weapons smuggling tunnels in Philadelphia, and most importantly, Lev Ram says, “There is another question mark regarding the issue of Israeli detainees in Gaza.”
The same source indicated that the facts on the ground show that there are many armed cells in the northern Gaza Strip that are clashing with the army forces, which confirms that the fighting will continue even in Jabalia and Shuja’iya, as is the case in other areas. The Israeli army has many operational tasks, especially in It relates to the destruction of Hamas’ infrastructure and military capabilities, especially in areas near the border and the “Gaza envelope” settlements.
But on the other hand, the military correspondent says, “The Israeli army will not be able to complete the military movement through which it seeks to dismantle Hamas’ military capabilities without passing through Rafah, and at the present time, the ground military movement there is in a format similar to what happened in the northern Gaza Strip and Khan Yunis.” “It seems further away now.”