The Israeli occupation forces’ ground operation in Gaza has revealed the accuracy of warnings issued by Israeli and Western military specialists about the danger of a ground invasion of Gaza on the occupation army.
The acknowledgment by the Israeli army of deaths among its soldiers in the ground operation confirms that its forces are facing a great challenge in Gaza. This is considering what is released by the Israeli army apart from Palestinian reports that confirm that Israel’s losses are much greater than that.
Last Tuesday Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi announced the start of the “third phase” in the war on Gaza targeting the northern part of the Strip. It aims to “strike all enemy systems with strength and precision from land sea and air through intelligence information” according to him as reported by Al Khaleej Online website.
Hanegbi also mentioned that the first phase involved containing the Hamas Movement’s attack and securing the southern territories.
Hanegbi described the third stage as “difficult and requiring intense fighting” adding “There is no fighting without a painful cost.”
He explained that “the focus of the Israeli army is currently on fighting the armed members of Hamas in northern Gaza” indicating that this focus will shift to the southern part of the region at a later stage.
According to the reports from the Al-Qassam Brigades the armed wing of Hamas Movement Israeli forces are advancing in the northern axis of the Gaza Strip reaching the area of Al-Karama on the outskirts of Gaza City from the northwest and the town of Beit Hanoun from the northeastern side.
These areas are either agricultural land devoid of residents or residential areas that were destroyed by Israeli aircraft artillery and naval warships during the ongoing war since October 7.
Israeli occupation forces’ deaths are increasing
On Wednesday the Israeli occupation army announced the killing of 15 of its soldiers during its attack on the Gaza Strip bringing the total since the start of the third stage of the battle to 17 and the total number of Israeli occupation soldiers killed since October 7 to 331.
The Israeli army also announced that four soldiers were seriously injured stating that two soldiers from the 77th Battalion a third from the Tzabar Battalion and another soldier from the Rotem Battalion were seriously wounded according to the English-speaking Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post.
The newspaper mentioned that the deaths and injuries among the Israeli army were a result of an attack using an anti-tank missile.
Palestinian resistance factions confirm that they are continuously targeting the invading forces causing significant losses among their ranks. They also emphasize that “the occupation army only mentions a fraction of its losses.”
The non-disclosure of the true casualties including the killed injured and other material damage such as vehicles tanks and military sites is not new in the behavior of the Israeli army. This is due to several reasons the most prominent of which is to preserve the morale of its soldiers and the Israeli public in general.
On the contrary Palestinians disclose their losses without any reduction exposing the brutality of Israeli crimes against defenseless innocent civilians.
Sudden Attacks
Al-Qassam Brigades the armed wing of Hamas according to the continuous statements and information it publishes confirm that what is happening on the ground is not far from the expectations of experts who advised Israel not to engage in a ground war on Gaza.
According to Al-Khaleej Online’s monitoring of Al-Qassam Brigades’ Telegram account it became clear that Palestinian fighters rely on the element of surprise and ambush to launch attacks on the Israeli occupation forces on the outskirts of Gaza.
The Qassam Brigades stated that its fighters managed to destroy four Israeli vehicles and a tank with Yassin 105 shells and targeted an infantry force located inside a building in Beit Hanoun.
They also launched two Zuwari suicide drones: one towards a gathering of infiltrating vehicles west of Al-Nour city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza axis and the second targeted the Mars military site. They also ambushed an Israeli infantry force west of Erez and killed three soldiers.
Through analyzing these attacks it appears that Palestinian fighters are using hidden tunnels and pre-prepared ambushes to launch painful strikes against the Israeli occupation forces and this is what military experts including Israelis had warned about.
Can Israel bear significant human losses?
As the war in Gaza escalates and the ongoing ground offensive proves challenging to the Israeli forces the most important question here is: Can Israel bear significant human losses?
Political analyst Ibrahim Rayhan in an interview with Al-Khaleej Online believes that the Israeli occupation army since cutting off internet and communications in the Strip is facing fierce fighting from Hamas and other factions.
Rayhan states that the Israelis were surprised by the fighting after days of unprecedented airstrikes and bombings targeting the tunnels.
In urban warfare Hamas has the advantage according to Rayhan due to their guerrilla warfare tactics. It is evident that they are luring the Israeli army into narrow streets where the air force is neutralized causing Israel to lose its superiority.
The increase in human casualties and losses in the armored division within the Israeli army is seen by Rayhan as a double-edged sword.
Firstly it negatively affects the Israeli public mood and increases pressure for a ceasefire.
In this regard he says: “History proves that Israel cannot bear human losses and this was a reality in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon and in the 2006 war where the human losses prompted it to withdraw from the capital Beirut 3 days after entering it and to accept a ceasefire after the heavy losses it suffered.”
Secondly the blow Israel received in the Al-Aqsa flood raised the revenge instinct among the Israeli society which may result in a determination to increase killing and destruction in the Gaza Strip.
Rayhan added “What should be noted is the economic and social damage to the settlers the displacement of hundreds of thousands of them on the borders of Gaza and Lebanon. This will increase the cost and internal pressure in Israel in addition to the safety of captured soldiers and settlers inside the Strip.”
