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Gaza Is One of the Most Treacherous Battlegrounds Ever

(Ynet News) Col. Richard Kemp - I joined IDF troops in combat in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City. The extremely challenging situation the IDF faces in Gaza today may be the most treacherous and formidable battleground any soldiers have ever fought on. Fighting in built-up areas diminishes the advantage of tanks, renders air and artillery support much more difficult, and is characterized by exceptionally high casualty rates, especially for attacking forces. IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari has reported that Hamas has been using suicide attackers. If you don't make the right split-second decision when someone appears in front of you in civilian clothes, without a rifle, with his hands up and with an unseen suicide vest beneath his outer clothing, you and your comrades could be vaporized. In almost every alleyway and every other house in Shejaiya the IDF has found explosives, weapons and booby-traps, not to mention terror tunnel entrances. I saw boxes of Iranian-supplied hand grenades stored in a child's bedroom. In the midst of this hell, IDF soldiers are daily risking their lives to hunt down Hamas terrorists. I spoke to many of them inside Gaza and saw some of them in action. What I found deeply impressed me. The standards of professionalism and battle discipline of these young conscripts are remarkable, especially when you consider that most are straight out of high school, as well as the older reservists who dropped what they were doing in their offices and factories, grabbing rifles and uniforms to answer the call of duty. I was struck also by their sky-high morale and incredible fighting spirit, virtues that are so vital in any fighting army. They know only too well the risks they face each day, with death just one bullet or bomb away, and too often they see their comrades maimed and killed beside them. Yet every single one I met, with images of Oct. 7 burned into their minds, remains utterly committed to protecting their families, friends and countrymen. The writer, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, was chairman of the UK's national crisis management committee, COBRA.
2023-12-19 00:00:00
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