Urban combat and underground war: What to expect from Israel's ground operation in Gaza

Another problem is the tunnels. Under Gaza, there are extensive defensive tunnels that span for dozens of kilometers. In the Israeli military, we call offensive tunnels as those dug under the border fence for infiltration into Israeli territory, while defensive tunnels are used during Israeli ground operations. These tunnels serve various purposes, including discreet movement between locations and houses to avoid aerial reconnaissance. Some of these tunnels are also used for launching rockets, with the rocket launcher sticking out from the inside. These tunnels can be used to outflank Israeli positions, and tunnel branches can be rigged to act as a huge mines. In general, tunnels are a key advantage — they even had a major underground city at one point. During the last operation, a noticeable portion of these tunnels was targeted and destroyed. However, it's likely that they've rebuilt most of them if they chose to do so, given the time they've had.

Warfare in a built-up area is a tricky business. The deployment of heavy equipment can be limited in such environments, and the presence of civilians adds another layer of complexity. Israel acknowledges the presence of human shields,” and navigating through the intricacies of built-up areas can be challenging. The enemy has prepared defenses that include tunnels, booby traps, and mined buildings. [The Israeli army will face] a lot of things, but everyone understands that perfectly well, as [Israeli military] intelligence has been working to study Hamas' capabilities. Naturally, there will be mistakes, there will be casualties and there will be pain, but there is no other way out.

If it were possible to employ 17th-century tactics today, this issue could be resolved quite simply — essentially blockading Gaza completely, disregarding humanitarian concerns and the Geneva Convention, and using artillery to indiscriminately bombard residential buildings, causing mass casualties. These ancient methods would likely lead to [the local population] bringing out the severed heads of their leaders, — however, this is all nonsense, as this line of thinking is unrealistic in modern times and is not an acceptable course of action. As for high-precision strikes with modern weaponry — Israel has been doing that for years. That's not how problems are solved. Modern aviation doesn't drop bombs without discretion, aiming to kill thousands.

If destroying Hamas in the Gaza Strip as an organization wasn't on today's agenda, exchanging blows as before would be possible. In the past, [Israel] even launches partial ground assaults, fired at someone, they fired rockets back, and that's how it ended. Only victory should be on the agenda today, not an exchange of blows. It is necessary for those who made the decision to massacre and their subordinates and formations to cease to exist. This is the only way to at least partially make up for what has happened and change reality. A reality where there is this adversary who is capable of such steps, who has such an opportunity and who is right next door - this is unacceptable.