The Islamic State had only two years to prepare the defenses in Mosul, Hamas had 15 years to prepare a dense defense in depth that includes underground and surface.
Fortifications, communication tunnels, combat posts and positions, minefields, improvised explosive devices, explosive penetration mines and explosion traps of all kinds in buildings are just some of the measures prepared by Hamas to defend Gaza City, centimeter by centimeter. To describe it hellish scenario at the New York Times, Michael Knights, collaborator of the Washington Institute.
An urban battlefield, probably never faced before, which requires an enormous effort in terms of men and capabilities, also because history teaches that it takes at least ten months to achieve significant results.
At the Pentagon, many officials believe that operations a Mosul e Raqqa in Iraq, ten years after that of Fallujah in Afghanistan, are a model to follow for urban guerrilla warfare even if Hamas' organization and training, not to mention funding, are clearly superior.
The common denominator in both Mosul and Raqqa was the significant number of civilian casualties. The Associated Press, the New York Times writes, estimated the number of civilians killed during the battle of Mosul alone between 9.000 and 11.000.
The US Secretary of Defense expressed his opinion on the issue last Sunday Lloyd Austin who underlined the need to carefully consider how Israeli forces could conduct a ground invasion in Gaza, where Hamas enjoys a significant advantage given by its millimetric knowledge of the territory and the branched network of tunnels that wind strategically under densely populated areas . The mapping of the dense network of tunnels has only been hypothesized, there is no specific evidence.
Another aspect to consider, Austin explained, is the presence of civilians in the battle space because they are part of the battle space, and we, in accordance with international law, must do everything necessary to protect those civilians.
The Biden administration, in fact, is concerned that Israel has no achievable military objectives in Gaza and that the IDF is not yet ready to launch a ground invasion with a plan that will work. Right there thirst for revenge could be a weakness of Israel so much so as to throw its 350 thousand reservists into danger into an infernal trap, artfully designed by Hamas also thanks to the masterful use of the cognitive dimension (unfiltered dissemination of the killings of 7 October).
Then the possibility that after the entry into Gaza by the Israelis could take place should not be overlooked Hezbollah from Lebanon, with their arsenal of around 200 thousand rockets, but also the militias on the border with Syria, appropriately trained by the Iranian Pasdaran. Even from Jerusalem, the Palestinians of the United States could join the battle of life.ANP, squeezing the entire Israeli territory in a deadly grip. Not to mention a direct involvement of Iran in the conflict. The seaborne action carried out yesterday evening by frogmen on the Israeli coast is also a testament to Hamas's intentions and capabilities.
The Pentagon has therefore decided to send a delegation of senior officers to Israel led by a highly decorated Marine general, Lieutenant General James Glynn. Officially the visit was motivated by the need to advise Israelis to face the challenges of urban warfare. A Pentagon official was quick to clarify to the media last Monday that the sending of General Glynn does not mean that the US is deciding with Israel on the land attack.
Other rumors, however, claim that the US military delegation went to Tel Aviv both to try to convince the ally to desist or delay the land operation due to the dangers due to the killing of many civilians and for the consequence that this attack it can have on the entire region and above all on the entire West (global Islamic jihad).
A diplomat from the Israeli embassy in America was quick to deny on Sunday that the US government was advising the Israelis to delay the ground invasion.
Even the president Biden during his speech in Tel Aviv last week he said that Israel would need “greater clarity on the objectives and a realistic assessment of the possibility of achieving the objectives underlying the land operation".
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