Israeli Ground Invasion of Gaza Proceeds

"[Israel’s upcoming ground offensive in the Gaza Strip] may last three months, but it will be the very last one [if Israel succeeds in eliminating the Hamas terror group]."

"This needs to be the last [ground] maneuver in Gaza, for the simple reason that after it there will be no Hamas. It will take a month, two months, three, but in the end, there will be no Hamas."

"Before the enemy meets the armored and infantry forces, it will meet the bombs of the Air Force."

"I am under the impression that you know [IAF] how to do it in a lethal, precise, and very high-quality way, as it has been proven until now."

Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant 

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (center) is seen at the IAF's command center in Tel Aviv, October 22, 2023. (Ariel Hermoni/ Defense Ministry)

Bluntly, in addressing top IAF commanders, Defense Minister Gallant spoke of a ground campaign meant to undertake the highly dangerous work of dismantling the vast network of tunnels that reflect the most vital strategic advantage of the Hamas terrorist group in supplying and re-supplying its military needs, in reconnaissance, in weapons storage, in sheltering Hamas operatives from the missiles their rockets invite to rain down on Gaza, and as exits into newly-formulated plans for guerrilla invasions into Israel.

The new phase of Israel's war against Hamas is on the cusp of fully unfolding; it is expected to be gruelling and open-ended following on the savagely bloody incursion by Hamas into southern Israel and the relentless rocket bombardment from Gaza accompanying and following the mass slaughter of Israeli families from children to the elderly, alongside the gang rapes of Israeli girls and women, and the hostage-taking of 222 Israelis to barter them for criminal Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

Israel expanding Gaza ground operation, communications cut off.  Still from video, CBCNews

 

Later, the Defense Minister spoke to a group of foreign reporters of the invasion that "will take a long time", to be followed by a lengthy phase of lower intensity fighting as Israel gets on with destroying "pockets of resistance". Its aim is to crush the rule of Hamas in Gaza and its future capacity to again turn to threatening Israel. Israel has no intention of ruling the territory despite the description of a long-term insurgency.

There are allied issues also at play with American warplanes striking eastern Syria targets the Pentagon identified as linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard group following a number of attacks on American forces. The military on Friday stated that ground forces backed by fighter jets and drones raided within Gaza, striking dozens of terrorist targets in 24 hours. A similar raid to Thursday's took place on Friday. And by Saturday the  full-scale invasion was put into action.

Israeli soldier at tunnel on Israeli side Gaza border

On each of these incursions on the outskirts of Gaza City, reports were that Israeli servicemen exited without sustaining casualties. The Gazan Health Ministry -- part of the Hamas administrative apparatus -- released a list of names and identification numbers of Gazans killed, among them over 3,000 minors and more than 1,500 women. Men are in short numbers, as are terrorists; the population seems comprised in its majority of children and women.

Thousands of rockets have been and continue to be fired into Israel, inclusive of one that hit a Tel Aviv residential building Friday wounding four. The expectation is that a full ground invasion will result in a marked increase of civilian casualties as well as military while Israeli forces and Hamas face one another in battle in close confines of residential areas. Even as desperate messages of energy shortages fuelling a shut-down of vital hospital services ring out, Hamas uses enormous energy assets for its rockets.

Israel, explained Gallant, is of the opinion based on experience that should fuel be provided for Gaza hospitals, it would find its way into the hands of Hamas, not the emergency generators to power incubators and life-saving medical equipment. Such acts of commandeering food and energy supplies for Hamas needs, taking humanitarian supplies meant for the besieged population has generally seen agreement on the part of Western observers.

As for the sacrosanct protection of hospitals, reporters were shown Hamas weapons depots and Hamas command installations on the grounds in and around al-Shifa hospital, Gaza's largest. The Israeli army released photographs a week earlier showing Hamas installations. And clarification was made of Hamas use of generators to pump air into hundreds of kilometres of tunnels, originating in areas of civilian density. One tunnel shaft was shown built adjacent a hospital.

Hamas terrorists guarding tunnels on the Gaza-Israeli border earlier this year. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

"Entering tunnels presents unique tactical challenges, many of which cannot be addressed without specialized equipment. In some cases it can be impossible to breathe without oxygen tanks in tunnels, depending on their depth and air ventilation."

"It can also be impossible simply to see. Most military night-vision goggles rely on some ambient light and cannot function when it is entirely absent. Any military navigation and communication equipment that relies on satellite or line-of-sight signals will not work underground."

"A weapon fired in compact spaces of tunnels, even a rifle, can produce a concussive effect that can physically harm the firer. A single defender can hold a narrow tunnel against a much superior force."

Modern War Institute at West Point, John Spencer, chair, urban warfare studies