The public in Israel does not fully understand just how powerful Israel's fist has been on Gaza, and it's doubtful whether it can. The human perspective is narrow; you see a specific prism at any given moment. It's a confined snippet of reality, which makes it all the more challenging to grasp the full picture from.
Video: Yoav Limor visits the troops in Gaza / Credit: Yoav Limor
Naturally, we're focused on ourselves – in the disaster that struck on October 7; the casualties; the captives; and the displaced. We're less attuned to the tragedy that Hamas inflicted on its people; or the military machine that the IDF has been pounding Gaza for five weeks, initially from the air and sea, and more recently, on the ground and beneath it. There are occasional glimpses of destruction or refugees, but they struggle to permeate our consciousness. We have a long history of being disappointed with solutions in Gaza that it's challenging to discern what's happening right before our eyes.
Let me say this upfront: Gaza hasn't collapsed yet. Neither has Hamas. However, what it's experiencing is unprecedented in scale: The devastation, intensity, and scope – all of these haven't occurred in the past. If Israel stays the course, it has a real chance of achieving the goals it set out in this operation. It'll demand numerous elements – focus, resolve, tough decisions, legitimacy, and also time and luck – but it's achievable.
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Even if Yahya Sinwar or Muhammad Deif are eliminated, the conflict will continue. It will take months to dismantle Hamas' power structure and years to ensure it doesn't reconstitute. This is precisely what Israel did in Operation Defensive Shield against Palestinian terror in the West Bank: an operation followed by sustained activity to preserve its gains.
In Gaza, everything is more intricate. Due to the conditions on the ground, poverty, and bitterness, it's difficult to gauge the average Gazan's thoughts about Israel and Hamas. To be honest, since October 7, I haven't been too concerned. Our own hardships always take precedence, especially this time. At the end of the conflict, the poor will have an opportunity to choose a better future for themselves, one that truly keeps war at bay for generations. Let's hope they do. If not, we'll continue to fight. Fortunately, we're stronger, and we've learned the lessons. "Never again" means never again.
Nothing in Gaza will look the same afterward, with the city to a large extent in ruins. It will take perhaps decades to rebuild it. About a million of its denizens have migrated to the south, to the improvised tents that were pitched along the sea, where the Gush Katif settlements were. They will remain refugees in a part of the world that is already one of the worst places in terms of quality of life.
Nor will we look the same. The IDF will operate and behave differently. All defense methods will change. There will be security and safety buffers within the Palestinian territory; there will be incursions, and there will be suspicion that will take years to dispel. Nearly 20,000 Gazans worked in Israel until the attack. They provided a significant boost to the struggling economy in Gaza. Hamas severed that lifeline, which was beneficial to both sides. It will take generations to rebuild it.
Last week, I entered Gaza with the forces. I wanted to see and feel how things were unfolding inside; to compare what was happening on our side and theirs. I must admit I was surprised: both by what we're doing and what's happening to the Gazans..
On our side, there had been a lot of talk a lot about unpreparedness, lack of motivation, and lack of means. What I witnessed was the opposite. Motivation at its peak: not surprising after what we've endured and in the understanding that this is a war for survival. Preparedness is also at its peak: the units are well-trained, combat worthy.
I shadowed the infantry cadets. They are not part of an organic unit but are part of a training center (for squad commanders) that turned into a combat unit. During the waiting weeks, from seizing control of the periphery to the beginning of the ground action, they underwent intensive preparation. The brigade commander, Colonel Israel Friedler, put them through a sequence of battalion- and company-level training, in live fire, at night, to ensure they entered Gaza fully prepared. It's evident in their self-confidence, professionalism, and operational behavior.
The IDF was caught off guard on Black Saturday, but once the organization's inner workings were fully operational it began to work efficiently. Anyone talking about a hollow-out army is far from the truth. Israel has excellent soldiers and commanders and a highly professional military After the war, it'll need to expand and strengthen it, restore it to a consensus, and ensure the best and the brightest remain, but even today, it's entirely capable of fulfilling the mission. Given time, it'll also yield good results.
This leads me to their side. No TV image or social media post can convey what it feels like on the ground. Gaza's devastation is all around. There isn't a neighborhood that hasn't been impacted. The preceding aerial attack did most of the work, facilitating the entry of forces on two fronts: it pushed most of the population out of the combat zone and significantly hampered Hamas' defense systems.
The assistance of the Israeli Air Force continues now. One part is offensive: Wherever the forces need assistance, the air force is there. Sometimes with combat helicopters or UAVs and sometimes with fighter jets carrying heavy munitions. The coordination between the air and ground forces is unprecedented. Bombs weighing a ton fall hundreds of meters to allow their advancement. The fact that, for the first time, both air and ground forces are using the same computing and mapping systems enables them to see the same picture and minimize errors.
Video: Yoav Limor visits the troops in Gaza / Credit: Yoav Limor
The other part of this assistance is primarily logistical: from bringing in equipment to evacuating the wounded. Fighting in the strip has a cost, and it's not an easy one. It comes in the form of fatalities and wounded. Hamas has prepared for this war for 15 years, and it exploits everything it has. It attacks from tunnels, hospitals, schools, and UN facilities. Nothing is past it, nothing is spared. The main threat to the forces is from anti-tank missiles and RPGs, as well as explosive devices and mortars launched from drones, not to mention the attempted ground attacks, especially from tunnels.
It's a complex warfare in a densely populated area where there's an inherent advantage to the defender, particularly when it's an underground fight. To counter this advantage, three things are required: strength, continuity, and time. The IDF currently has all three. The number of forces it deploys in the strip is extraordinary, and it's doubtful if even Hamas fully appreciates its scope. Behind them are all the air, sea, and artillery forces, enabling operations and targeting through other means.
The other two variables – continuity and time – are a bit more elusive. They are also interconnected: The longer the operation continues without pauses, the better the outcomes. There isn't a day that goes by without more Hamas commanders getting eliminated, more of their infrastructure damaged, or more of their capabilities hindered. Similarly, every day that goes by the IDF makes further inroads into the built-up areas, moving closer to the heart of Gaza City to complete the actual takeover – a crucial first step towards undermining Hamas' operational capability and their governing infrastructure.
The issue is that Israel isn't operating in a vacuum. This harsh warfare has a cost: in lives and in damage. We are engaged in our loss, but the world has long been concerned about theirs. Gaza reports more than 10,000 fatalities, a significantly larger number of injuries, and thousands of homes destroyed to the ground. Even if we take the reports from the strip with a grain of salt (as we should), the price the strip is paying is exceedingly heavy.
The international community is more attentive than we are to these images and voices, parts of the public are horrified. A lengthy theoretical debate could be held on the world's anti-Israel bias, on the latent antisemitism that's now coming out in full force, on the naivety and lack of understanding of entire publics that we're not just conducting our war here but also theirs, and that what Hamas, which has become ISIS-like, has done to us today could happen to them tomorrow if they continue to close their eyes and ignore reality.
Those who understand this well are world leaders. It's not for nothing that Israel receives such substantial support from all Western governments, as well as from moderate Arab countries. But both sides also have domestic public opinion to consider, and they must take that into account. In an attempt to strike a balance, they say the following to Israel: "Continue fighting in Gaza until Hamas is decisively defeated. This is a worthy goal. However, do not cause a humanitarian disaster that the world cannot tolerate and that would force us to intervene or take you to the brink. Loosen the grip a bit so that you can continue to wield the stick."
In Jerusalem, the message has been well received. The public, of course, often gives an automatic "no" to any scaling down of the operation, but those making the decisions clearly recognize that we don't live in a vacuum. You can't take $14 billion in aid from the US along with unprecedented diplomatic, military, and public support without giving something in return. The current debate is in the details: what to give and what to receive.
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