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( I24) IDF was ‘surprised’ with the vastness of Hamas military network in the south of the Strip, WSJ said citing its sources in Israeli military
‘They draw the IDF in and then do a hit and run. It’s a challenge for any Western, industrial military to deal with… The more the IDF focuses on Khan Yunis, the more intense close combat scenarios will occur,’@YaakovLappin explains Hamas’ modus operandi pic.twitter.com/IZ0fOm0Jn4
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) December 24, 2023
Gaining control over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip could take Israel Defense Forces (IDF) months. The Wall Street Journal, citing sources in the Israeli military, on Monday reported that the IDF was “surprised by the extent of Hamas’s vast military network in southern Gaza and are finding more tunnels and weapons than they expected.”
“Their modus operandi now is to harass our soldiers and then go back into the tunnels,” an unnamed Israeli officer told WSJ. According to the source, such Hamas’s attacks tend to originate from cells of two to five terroris
While months of fighting have destroyed the core of Hamas’s command, the group is still able to carry out effective guerilla attacks, the report points out.
Michael Milshtein, a former senior Israeli military intelligence officer, commenting on Hamas’s fighting capabilities, said: “We’re speaking about half a guerrilla and half an army.”
According to the report, a senior Israeli officer commanding forces in Khan Younis said that there is no change in Israeli policy. “Israel has more boots on the ground in Khan Younis than it had in northern Gaza during the start of the ground operation, and so there are fewer widespread airstrikes to avoid harming Israeli troops,” added the course cited by WSJ.
Nir Barkat, Israel’s Minister of economy and industry, earlier on Sunday said it was “untenable” that the ground operation endangers the IDF soldiers by sending them exposed into urban combat before striking buildings.
The IDF on Monday released names of two more soldiers killed in combat in the Gaza Strip. Their deaths raised the Israeli military’s toll in the ground operation up to 156.
