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Why Israel Is Winning in Gaza

(Tablet) Prof. Edward Luttwak - From the start of Israel's counteroffensive into Gaza, almost all the media military experts immediately warned that Israel could not possibly defeat Hamas. They said its invasion of Gaza would certainly result in a horrifying number of Israeli casualties, before resulting in a bloody stalemate. And that was before it was realized that there were hundreds of miles of tunnels beneath Gaza, from which fighters could emerge, set up instant ambushes, and then safely escape. Yet as of this writing, the actual number of Israeli soldiers killed in the counteroffensive is 225, a very small number, given the magnitude of the forces involved on both sides and the exceptional complexity of the battlefield. The Gaza fighting to date has been an exceptional feat of arms. A conservative estimate is that 10,000 Hamas fighters have been killed - a 1 to 44 kill radio. Then there is the unique equipment of the IDF. Israeli Merkava tanks were not penetrated and cooked by the Russian Kornet missiles that Hamas has. In addition to its thick armor, each Merkava has its own Trophy counterweapon that intercepts incoming missiles and rockets at close range. Also unique to Israel is the Namer infantry carrier, a battle taxi that allows Israeli troops to move about in perilous urban space protected by more armor than any combat vehicle in history. The locked-down crew can see everything on large screens whose images come from microcameras safely embedded in the armor. When Israel's infantrymen dismount and advance on foot, they are guided by the warnings and directions of those who monitor the movement of any enemies close by with the cameras of their mini-drones that look for snipers and mortar crews in the next street over. Moreover, the IDF troops in Gaza are determined to fight as hard and as long as necessary to grind down Hamas until nothing is left. It is now evident that the tactical victory that Hamas achieved on Oct. 7 has become a leading driver of its strategic defeat, by compelling the Israeli government to persist and by motivating its troops to fight until Hamas' destruction. The writer is a contractual strategic consultant for the U.S. government.
2024-02-11 00:00:00
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