As Israel threatens to invade the ‘devil’s playground’, experts warn of a tough landscape, civilian casualties and geopolitical pressure
The aftermath of an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat market in central Gaza on Monday. Photograph: Samar Abu Elouf/New York TimesHeavy fire from rooftops and booby-trapped apartments. Armour-piercing projectiles blowing up troop carriers. Fighters blending in with civilians, launching drone ambushes or surging from tunnels full of enough ammunition, food and water to sustain a long war.
Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has vowed to “demolish Hamas”. Without sharply defining what that means, he pledged to remove the group from Gaza after its October 7th attack on Israel killed 1,400 people and led to the kidnapping of more than 200 others. Fighters from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine in a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip. Photograph: Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images
Cities can also be malleable. Israel has destroyed hundreds of Gaza buildings in air strikes. Hamas, long before its assault on Israel this month, had built hundreds of miles of tunnels under Gaza City that can be used to move among attack positions, hide hostages and protect supplies. It’s a familiar problem. In 2004, the Bush administration gave US marines only 72 hours to plan an invasion of Falluja in Iraq after four American contractors were killed, their mutilated bodies lashed to a bridge. Commanders warned that a revenge-driven operation would endanger civilians and fail, and they pulled back after heavy losses, giving Iraqis six months to flee before a second push.
Most Islamic State fighters were also from other countries. Hamas fighters grew up in Gaza. Their units are bonded together by location, family, faith and shared frustration with Israel.
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