- Israel’s planned ground operation to destroy Hamas in Gaza will be like “moving through a minefield,” experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
- The Israel Defense Forces will face a stronger enemy than previously engaged on urban battlefields, which are already dangerous and require specialized tactics.
- “If you hurry, you not only make more mistakes in terms of collateral damage, civilian deaths, material destruction, but you also take more friendly casualties as well,” Michael Knights, a researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), told the DCNF.
(Daily Caller)—Israel is preparing to invade Gaza, a task that will require its military to engage in grinding warfare through an urban setting and defeat a Hamas organization that is stronger than ever, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Israel’s objective is to wipe out all remnants of the Iran-backed terrorist organization whose members brutally murdered 1,300 Israelis, mostly civilians, in an unanticipated intrusion on Oct. 7, Israel’s leaders say. While the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is better armed than Hamas and has trained for exactly the kind of operation it plans to execute in Gaza, the coming fight will present new challenges it has not yet dealt with in combat, experts said.
Michael Knights, a researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), explained the challenges the IDF will face before achieving its war aims. Gaza is packed with secretive tunnels, deteriorating buildings that can be used as strongpoints for attack and thousands of “fanatical” fighters, he said, not to mention civilians.
“Any environment like this — ruins, dents, building quality, lots of civilians— it’s complicated. Then you’ve got hostages, then the three dimensional component [of] tall buildings and really extensive underground spaces,” Knights said. “And then you’ve got an enemy that is probably more advanced than anything we’re seeing outside of the Ukraine environment.”
Hamas is a “fanatical defending force that is actually very well armed,” Knights told the DCNF.
The operation will be like “moving through a minefield” while under fire the entire way through the city, he said.
Hamas mostly controls the 140-square-mile strip of land between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea and for years has used it as a base from which to pummel Israel with rockets.
The organization is highly proficient by the standards of paramilitary organizations, in large part because it receives funding, training, weapons and technical support from Iran, Knights and others explained.
Hamas also boasts a relatively large arsenal of attack drones, rockets and the most advanced anti-armor weapon available to any military, Knights told the DCNF.
Israeli intelligence estimated in 2021 Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups maintained a stockpile of about 30,000 rockets, The New York Times reported. That includes a mix of crudely-made, inaccurate Qassam rockets and more advanced missiles and components components smuggled in from Iran and Syria. But, so far, there is no evidence Hamas has guided surface-to-surface missiles, Fabian Hinz wrote in the International Institute of Strategic Studies.
The terrorist organization fired as many as 2,500 rockets on the first day of the war, according to Hinz — Hamas claimed a number closer to 5,000.
Israel believes Hamas has around 30,000 fighters who will be willing to give their lives resisting the IDF, according to The Associated Press. However, it will also leverage civilians as shields to prevent Israel from striking at Hamas positions or members for fear of killing noncombatants, a war crime, John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at West Point’s Modern War Institute, wrote. The IDF called for Gazans to evacuate, but nevertheless many will likely remain.
Hamas’ incursion on Oct. 7 showed that the group has “reached new levels of organizational capability” since it last clashed with the IDF in Gaza, Seth Frantzman, an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the DCNF. “It’s weapons are still primarily older AK-47s and RPGs, but it also now has small quadcopter drones and many types of mines and explosives that it can use to booby-trap areas.”
“The real challenge will be fighting in an urban area where there are civilians,” Frantzman said.
Gaza City itself comprises about 20 square miles, and Gaza has a handful of other 5-square-mile urban areas, according to WINEP. However, Gaza is far more densely populated than other urban battlefields of recent wars, such as Raqqa in Syria or Mosul in Iraq.
Comparing Israel’s imminent fight in Gaza to those of Mosul and Raqqa provides limited context. Gaza is more built-up than either of the reference cities and pierced with an extensive network of underground tunnels Hamas, adding an unknown dimension to battlefield space and tactical considerations, WINEP said.
Tunnels can hide weapons depots and fighting positions, potentially for launching ambushes, according to The Economist. Hamas can use the tunnels to relay messages undetected and move rockets from one point in the city to another. The tunnels afford critical protection from Israeli airstrikes.
“In 2008, the air strike and air surveillance [by Israel] took us by surprise … so we made strategic plans to move the battle from the surface to underground,” a Hamas commander said, referring to Israel’s 22-day operation in Gaza, The Economist reported.
In 2014, the IDF launched an operation to degrade the tunnel network, destroying 32 of an estimated 1,300, according to The Economist. A post-operation inquiry found that the IDF was unprepared for the challenges of first locating, then destroying, the tunnels.
An estimated 300 miles of tunnel infrastructure snakes through Gaza and possibly into Israel, according to a 2021 estimate, NPR reported. Many of them are narrow, deep underground and traversing underneath major civilian sites like hospitals or mosques. Hamas is able to use foreign support and capital investment to rebuild tunnels and construct new ones.
While the Islamic State had two years to construct defenses in Mosul and Raqqa, Hamas has been working on Gaza’s defensive infrastructure for 15 years, according to WINEP. IDF forces will have to destroy overhead and ground fortifications and artillery emplacements while also navigating anti-personnel and anti-armor minefields, hidden IEDs and booby-trapped buildings.
At the same time, the IDF benefits from an encyclopedia of knowledge compiled over years of constantly surveilling Gaza, as well as two prior wars in the territory from which to draw insight.
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“The IDF appears to be the most cohesive, well-equipped, and well-prepared force to fight major urban battles since the U.S. military itself fought the highly destructive second Battle of Fallujah in November 2004,” Knights wrote.
The Israel Defense Forces mobilized some 300,000 reservists to supplement its roughly 170,000 active duty troops, effectively tripling manpower available for the fight.
Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant pledged to “wipe out” Hamas “from the face of the earth” on Oct. 12, day 5 of the conflict, while standing alongside other members of Israel’s newly-formed war cabinet, Times of Israel reported. In the days since, the defense minister laid out specific war objectives and the broad outlines of a three-phase campaign.
The first phase has begun consisting of a “a military campaign by fire and later by tactical maneuver, the purpose of which will be to assassinate operatives and damage infrastructure” to destroy Hamas, Gallant said on Friday, Haaretz reported.
The second phase will involve lower-intensity combat to “eliminate pockets of resistance,” Gallant said, Times of Israel reported. In the final step, Israel plans to create “a new security regime in the Gaza Strip” and for Israel, eliminating any Israeli responsibility for Gaza’s day-to-day welfare.
Gallant told troops stationed near the border with Gaza a ground operation would come “soon,” Times of Israel reported. He warned the fight will be long, difficult and intense.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the Israeli Air Force was firing on Gaza “at a rate not seen in decades” to prepare the battlefield for a ground invasion, Haaretz reported.
“The IDF has trained for this, but the reality of this kind of warfare is always more difficult than the training,” Frantzman told the DCNF.
Knights explained the ground operation as “nibbling away” at bits of the city. First the IDF identifies a block or avenue it wants to control, then spends a couple of hours probing it and “pulverizing” areas that respond with gunfire. Then troops move in to secure the area.
“Then you look at the next slice, and you do it again. And you do that 30, 50, 70 or 120 times until you’ve got the whole area” and ideally handing responsibility for those areas off to a multinational forces and observance organization, Knights said. The IDF will be able to commit a handful of troops at any one time to frontline slivers for 24 to 48 hours, ensuring troops maintain fresh and minimizing the numbers of casualties any one unit sustains, he explained.
It will take months at minimum to secure the entire city.
“If you hurry, you not only make more mistakes in terms of collateral damage, civilian deaths, material destruction, but you also take more friendly casualties as well,” Knights said.
“And if you’re working somebody else’s timeline, like how long the U.S. can hold international pressure at bay or something along those lines, then you tend to make more mistakes,” Knights said.
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Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
