Israel continues to face serious difficulties in conducting its ground operation in the Gaza Strip. Many factors make the local battlefield extremely difficult for the IDF, most notably the fact that Hamas troops use a complex network of tunnels to move, store weapons and carry out surprise attacks. Furthermore, the debris from buildings destroyed by the IDF also became an obstacle for Israeli troops and American special units involved in the operation.

Confirming what several experts had predicted, Tel Aviv is having many problems in its ground invasion plan in Gaza. In recent days, several reports are showing that Israel’s long-awaited ground operation has already begun, but it has been extremely frustrating for Israeli ambitions. Between October 22nd and 27th, there were important raids against Gaza, but apparently the moves were quickly neutralized by Hamas forces.

On October 27, Netanyahu made a public statement officially announcing that the “new phase” of the war had already begun. According to him, the objectives of the ground raids are to destroy Hamas’ political and military capabilities, in addition to rescuing captured Israeli citizens.

“Last night, additional ground forces entered Gaza, marking the beginning of the second stage of the war, whose goal is to destroy the military and political capabilities of Hamas and to bring our kidnapped citizens back”, Netanyahu said. In the same vein, IDF’s Chief of Staff, General Herzi Halevi, advised: “There are no achievements without risks, and there is no victory without prices being paid. In order to expose the enemy and destroy it, there is no other way but to enter its territory with great force.”

Special units of the American military are believed to be fighting alongside the Israelis in the ground raids. There are reports that the US “Delta” special unit is participating in the operations, but Washington is avoiding commenting on the case publicly. However, not even with this type of help is it possible to carry out an incisive incursion. On October 25, former Pentagon adviser Douglas Macgregor said that Israeli and American troops who attempted to enter Gaza were “shot to pieces and took heavy losses”.

All of this was predicted by the experts. Israeli troops have great difficulties in carrying out physical combat and are not skilled in situations of prolonged frictions. The same can be said about American special units, which have no experience in the Gaza region. On the other hand, Hamas and allied militias are familiar to the local geography, know the territory better than the enemy and have the advantage of using their underground tunnels both to carry out surprise attacks and to evade when they suffer losses.

The only way for the land operation to be carried out successfully by Israel is to considerably increase the levels of violence, which tends to cause many side effects and civilian casualties. Israel is relying on combined operations of ground raids and extremely violent aerial bombardments, which is further increasing the number of civilian casualties. In practice, the Israeli government is being severely affected by this strategy, as international reactions to Zionist violence are negative, generating political and diplomatic pressure against Tel Aviv.

Concerned about the growth of this pressure, American officials reportedly advised Israel to rethink its land invasion strategy. What was planned to be a definitive invasion with a large number of troops became a sequence of small ground assaults with a reduced number of soldiers and special units. Reports show that American officials are trying to prevent a bloodbath from occurring in the densely populated regions of Gaza – not because there is a genuine humanitarian concern, but because it affects the diplomatic image of Israel and its American supporters. This explains why in recent days Tel Aviv has been launching small-scale raids.

The problem is that this plan is also unlikely to be successful, as Hamas is proving strong enough to repel the invaders. The constant defeats increase internal pressure in Israeli society and force the government to increase violence with bombings – which in turn generates international pressure given the humanitarian impact. With this, the Israeli government once again appears to be in a trap from which it cannot escape.

There is another factor that also harms the IDF considerably. As a result of the bombings, there are many debris from collapsed buildings in Gaza’s streets. The roads and villages are damaged and there are all sorts of obstacles on the ground. This makes the transit of tanks and armored vehicles very difficult. This type of equipment has serious difficulties operating in urban areas, especially with debris on the streets, which is why the IDF will certainly need to rely almost exclusively on its infantry, substantially increasing the chances of prolonged frictions.

In fact, Israel’s choice to wage an all-out war in Gaza appears to have been extremely anti-strategic. Any step taken by the Zionist state will have serious consequences. Small incursions will be defeated, large bombing will generate international pressure and a large-scale invasion will lead to an intervention by the Axis of Resistance, creating new flanks.

The Israeli-Hamas Conflict Is A Continuation of the 9/11 Plot

Paul Craig Roberts

The Hamas October 7 attack on Israel was the opening gun of a plot devised by US neoconservatives and Netanyahu to renew the US attack on Hezbollah’s suppliers in behalf of Greater Israel.  Greater Israel is a Zionist belief that Israel comprises the territory from the Nile in Egypt to the Euphrates in Iraq. The purpose of 9/11 was to launch under the guise of a “war on terror” the wars that the American neoconservatives had called for in their publications and that General Wesley Clark told us about against Israel’s enemies in the Middle East.  The purpose of Washington’s “war on terror” was to destroy Hezbollah’s suppliers–Iraq, Syria and Iran.  Israel and the neoconservatives want these three countries destroyed because they supply Hezbollah with money and weapons that permits Hezbollah to successfully repeal Israel’s attempts to occupy southern Lebanon.  Israel needs the water resources in southern Lebanon.  With the Iraq, Syrian, and Iranian regimes destroyed, avenues are opened to Greater Israel.

In other words, there was never a “war on terror.”  There was a war devised by US neocons against Israel’s opponents.  And that is precisely what the war on Hamas is about. 

It is impossible to breach the Israeli security barrier without setting off alarms.  The plot called for the barrier to be stood down.  What most likely happened is this:  Israeli agents who have infiltrated Hamas were instructed to sell Hamas on the attack by promising the ability to disable the barrier and surprise the Israelis.  Netanyahu and the neocons sacrificed Israeli lives for the outrage about Israeli deaths, rapes, and Israeli babies with cut off heads.  This would gain Israel support for destroying the remnants of Palestine and incorporating all of Palestine into Israel, thus ending any prospect of a two-stare solution and simultaneously settling Netanyahu’s legal and political problems by making him a hero who consolidated Palestine under Israel.

But the plot has wider aims, which were revealed by the almost instant appearance on the scene of US aircraft carrier task forces, the 101st Airborne Division followed by US Marines and Special Forces.  Israel, of course, does not need these American forces in order to destroy Gaza.  Pundits, reflecting either a lack of imagination or serving a disinformation function, have rationalized the presence of the US forces as a warning and protective buffer between Israel and Hezbollah/Iran.

Think about this rationale.  If Netanyahu understood that the plot might bring Iran/Hezbollah and even Syria and Iraqi volunteers down on Israel’s head, would he have sponsored a plot that initiated war with Hamas?  The answer is not unless he and the US neoconservatives want to bring Iran/Hezbollah down on Israel’s head.  And they do, which is why the US forces are in the area.  A Hezbollah attack on Israel gives the neocons, who control the US State and Defense Departments and National Security Council the excuse they need to finish the real purpose of the “war on terror”– to destroy Syria and Iran.  Iraq was taken out, but Syria and Iran remain in Israel’s way.  

Will this plot succeed?

The plot is premised on drawing Hezbollah and Iran into the war.  If they are not drawn in–and Putin is doing his best to prevent them from being drawn in–the US neoconservatives don’t have an excuse to widen the war.  The neoconservatives would be tempted to go for a false flag attack that would provide an excuse, but it would be risky and not compare to Hezbollah troops pouring into Israel and missiles raining down on Israel from Iran.  If the neocons use a false flag attack, the result of Putin’s efforts will be to take the initiative, the element of surprise, from Iran/Hezbollah and to give the initiative to the neoconservatives.  Thus Putin’s efforts to contain the conflict would turn out to be counterproductive.

The Israeli-Hamas conflict is running into trouble with the US Democrats.  Their “diversity-multicultural-open border” policy has brought Muslims into the US and into the Democrat Party and members of Congress.  Someone is getting through the neocon barrier around Biden as we can see from Biden’s efforts to dampen down the conflict, delay Israel’s invasion of Gaza, and warn Israel away from repeating Hamas’ atrocities.  If Biden succeeds in restraining Netanyahu and Putin succeeds in restraining Iran/Hezbollah, the plot will have to settle for second best.

What would second best be.  It would be  bombing the Gazans out of Gaza into the Sinai Dessert into tent cities.  Israelis are already talking about this.  In other words, the Gazans who survive would become refugees outside of Gaza.  That would only leave a few isolated Palestinian villages in the West Bank, from which the remaining Palestinians would be driven out by the Israeli settlers.

So it is possible for Israel to destroy Gaza without invading, which, as matters stand, is the trigger for Iran/Hezbollah’s entry into the conflict. What we don’t know is whether Putin can keep Iran/Hezbollah restrained if the consequence is the demise of Gaza and all hope for Palestinians.

We also don’t know if Biden and the Democrats can prevent the Republicans, who are now aligned with the neoconservatives in behalf of Israel, from egging on the war.  

Many  Republicans, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson,  are evangelicals who worship Israel more than God.  Netanyahu and American Evangelicals are invoking Biblical prophecies to stir Israelis and Americans into eschatological insanity.  Biden is discredited, and polls show that his public support is too low to permit his reelection.  Trump was recently described by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz as “the most pro-Israel President in history.”  This leaves us with the question:  Will Putin/Biden’s attempts to contain the conflict prevail or will the Republican/evangelical/neoconservative/Netanyahu efforts to widen the conflict prevail?  Time will tell.