Ground invasion exposes Israeli troops to close combat in an urban environment against dug-in Hamas fighters
A woman walks past destroyed buildings as she flees Gaza City on Wednesday amid increased military operations. Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPAFirst came a month-long aerial bombardment. Then Israeli armour and infantry moved in behind a rolling barrage of air and artillery strikes that cut besieged– striking at what one official called Hamas’s “centre of gravity”.
But its war with Hamas, which was responsible for the October 7th killing of at least 1,400 Israelis, according to Israeli officials, has meant adapting to the complexities of battle in an urban environment an hour’s drive from Tel Aviv, against militants who have spent years preparing for just this clash. This week, an Israeli F-35 fighter designed to fly 2,000km was tasked with hitting a target 200m ahead of Israeli soldiers.
A woman carries the body of her child, killed in an air strike on a house in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday. Photograph: Haitham Imad/EPA The aim is for each raid is to gather fresh intelligence on Hamas and its military infrastructure. Israeli forces will then withdraw and call in air strikes, leading to more raids, in an iterative process.
Infantry will be required to leave their armoured vehicles and maintain roadblocks, while protecting themselves from Hamas. The Financial Times last week reported that dozens of buildings around Shifa had already been destroyed by air strikes. This week, the Israeli military published images of hundreds of Palestinians walking along one of the evacuation routes, with their hands in the air and some waving white flags.
Hamas has also produced its own videos. In one, a fighter aims an RPG at an Israeli armoured personnel carrier rumbling down the street. After he pulls the trigger, his headcam jolts upwards with the recoil, and there is a flash as the grenade explodes against the vehicle, followed by an exultant cry of victory – although there was no evidence that the carrier was destroyed.
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