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Israel Is Flushing Hamas Out of Gaza

(Telegraph-UK) Col. Richard Kemp - Heavy fighting continues in the north and south of Gaza, both above ground and in Hamas' extensive tunnel network, which is assessed to be even more extensive than the London Underground's 250 miles. I was inside Gaza on Tuesday and witnessed two terrorist tunnels being destroyed with explosives by IDF engineers in Shejaiya. A short time later, the IDF suffered one of its deadliest single skirmishes, with nine soldiers killed in a gun and explosives battle with terrorists. The tunnels bring yet another incredibly formidable dimension to urban combat, which is itself among the most challenging of battle environments, characterized by particularly high casualty rates, especially among attacking forces. I've been into those tunnels: they are heavily fortified, concrete-lined and with lighting, electric power and air supply. Over two decades they have been constructed using vast sums of money, including international aid that should have been spent on civilian infrastructure, and costing the lives of many Gazans including dozens of children sent underground to work on them. Tunnel entrances are mostly inside civilian houses, schools, hospitals and mosques. Terrorists use them to store weapons and ammo, protect commanders and move fighters around to outmaneuver forces above ground. Some have been fitted with heavy blast doors to complicate assaults by Israeli troops. They allow Hamas to ambush troops by emerging from the rear in areas that had already been cleared. Whenever possible, the IDF avoids going into the tunnels and getting bogged down in fighting on Hamas' terms. Yet the Israelis are entering the tunnels when necessary, to rescue hostages, gain intelligence from underground command posts, and target high-level terrorist leaders. There is still a lot of hard fighting ahead and Israel's allies should be working to do what they can to further demoralize Hamas. The writer, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, was chairman of the UK's national crisis management committee, COBRA.
2023-12-14 00:00:00
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