IDF Fighting New Kind of War

Stand for Israel  |  December 29, 2023

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(Photo: Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

While expanding ground operations above ground in Gaza to stop Hamas, the IDF faces intricate terror tunnels below ground, making the war complex. Writing at Ynet News, Ron Ben Yishai says Israel is “making military history:”

The fighting in Gaza is a first of its kind and is making military history. It is in fact a war carried out on different levels. The top story is above ground and the bottom is a tunnel city with underground bases built over 15 years at great financial cost and with much sophistication. Although most has been known to the military intelligence and the Shin Bet, it is still a challenge to reach and destroy.

Control above ground, even if it results in the death of thousands of terrorists and the capture of massive amounts of weapons and munitions, does not weaken the hold that Hamas has on the Strip and would not prevent it, from renewing its military capabilities. Only destruction of the underground networks would achieve Israel’s goals to eliminate Hamas and for that the military needs time to complete the job.

But fighting in the multi storied underground complexes which are fortified by various means, is a military first. The American forces in Vietnam did fight the Vietcong in tunnels and bunkers but they were used to remain out of sight before striking and not as fortified military positions…