by Kyle Anzalone at The Libertarian Institute
Several sources within the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) say it will be unable to destroy most of Hamas’s tunnel network under Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged the Israeli military will eliminate Hamas and rescue the Israeli captives in Gaza. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that Tel Aviv will be unable to achieve either goal.
IDF officials at all levels, including generals, say destroying the tunnel network is impossible. “The Israel Defense Forces will not destroy all the Hamas and Islamic Jihad tunnels under Gaza. Probably not even most of them,” Haaretz reports. “The IDF is scaling down its forces in Gaza City with full knowledge that many tunnels have been overlooked. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. The tunnels under the Gaza Strip were there even before Hamas’ founding in 1987 and it seems they’ll be here after this war too.”
The Israeli outlet explains that the Israeli military command was surprised by the extent of the tunnel network beneath Gaza. “Only gradually did the IDF realize that the tunnel network was much more extensive than it had previously understood and that their main use by Hamas was not for launching arsenals, but for preserving its forces.” The Haaretz article continues, “Another assumption that was proven wrong was that it would be enough to control the ground above for a few weeks for Hamas fighters, starved of food, water and oxygen to be forced to emerge.”
The incorrect assessment of the tunnels is just one…
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