The real war starts now!

For the most part, the guns are now quiet on both sides. The IDF is slowly pulling out of the Gaza strip and Operation Cast Lead is coming to an end.Or is it? Now it’s the time to start the real war, the war that will determine in many ways the near future (or distant future) of the people in Gaza and Israel.I’m talking about the PR war over the outcomes of Operation Cast Lead! Hamas has already declared victory over Israel, and they will do their best to show how much death and damage Israel has done, while stressing the fact that they are still strong and controlling Gaza.Israel's battle now will be to deal with the world media as the foreign press will be able to enter Gaza -- its going to be very hard.

Bob Englehart, Hartford , Connecticut -- The Hartford Courant January 13, 2009

I’m stressing this point because this is not the regular PR war that has been going on for years. This is different. It is different because now Hamas has to keep up the illusion that it is equally as strong as before the war for the Palestinians in the streets, who might have realized Hamas is not so strong, can barely defend the Palestinians, let alone conquer Israel, which is what Hamas planned. Another aspect of it will be who will rebuild Gaza.Will it be Hamas with the money they are going to get from Iran? This will be a disaster and will help Hamas rebuild itself and the gain back popularity, which is otherwise low among Palestinians (by most estimations).Israel and Egypt are aware of that and planning on supporting the rehabilitation of Gaza with foreign aid, somehow not through Hamas. I really hope that this plan works out, because this could be the beginning of delegitimizing Hamas among Palestinians and them striving for a better future for themselves.

About all the poor innocent souls who got hurt on both sides, I feel great sadness and I would like to end up with a quote from Israel’s late Prime Minister Golda Meir:

“We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children’s. We cannot forgive the for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.”

Burst their bubble!!!

People have been telling me that if the IDF is pulling now out of Gaza we lost and Hamas has won.
I disagree! I don’t think we need to pull out till we have accomplish as much as possible from the original goals of this operation, but if forced to it I think we have accomplished so much already!
Hamas has been building a fantasy for the people of Gaza, (a Shiite messianic idea if you want) of them building an army and by force killing all Jews and destroying Israel.
Well I think we have managed to burst their bubble quite well! In a short period of time we have managed to hit them pretty hard and prove once again we have good intelligence. They are hiding in their holes and tunnels behind civilian population and acting very cowardly when it comes to fighting.
The Palestinians in the streets of Gaza and elsewhere see that as well, and that fantasy of the “Heros” of Hamas redeeming them if fading away.
They might survive this, but the moral impact is very strong in my opinion, also the fact that no one comes to aid Hamas not even Hezbollah.
I don’t think that by force we can destroy Hamas, but I hope that this will put some sense into Palestinian minds to realize how bad is Hamas for them, they should reject it and their Shiites ways and start striving for peace once again.
Personally I think that pulling out of Gaza should also involve bringing back Gilad Shalit!

Hamas's Power!!!

I must say that I am surprised by the low amount of Israeli casualties so far in this campaign. So far we had seven soldiers die and two of them from friendly fire (which is common when fighting in such an urban area)
Reading the reports about the weapons and training Hamas has received over the last couple of years both from Hezbollah and Iran I was really concern about the faith of our soldiers during a ground operation.
The reports are talking about a very well trained small army, with an intelligence unite and good communication. These are highly essential to create some order in the mess of a war zone, and when you can form that you can initiate attacks and become a fierce enemy. These are not small guerilla militias that hit and run or defend for the most part, but an initiating army that can cause serious damage!
Among the different things Hamas is reported to have are very sophisticated booby-traps, devices that jump in the air before they detonate so as to create more damage and casualties. They are trained to create multi-damage explosive scenes, with one or two charges, that harm the troops but are waiting to explode when the medical people arrive to aid them (a Hezbollah expertise).
Very well camouflaged explosive traps that looks like very innocent objects like rocks etc…
My concern about the ground offensive was and probably still is valid. I guess that unlike the second Lebanon war there was a lot of intelligence gathered before this operation and for the most part it keeps our soldiers relatively safe.
From here I would like to send my deepest condolence to the families who lost their loved ones, the whole nation salute them with pride!
And my prayers for those soldiers who are still fighting in this bloody affair.

Tanks should not go in

Reading all the analysis from the military experts, it seems like a ground strike in almost inevitable. At this point, it’s not a matter of if they go in but more of when they go in. This is mainly because I believe that Israel will want to take advantage of the successful air strike to make a real difference on the ground as well.
The Israeli officials are being very careful; they are not giving false promises like they did with the Second Lebanon War. However, the massive assembly of ground troops and armed vehicles does not give much room for mistakes.
I feel the IDF is wearing the terrorists out in order to create a window for some sort of a surprise. The IDF knows very well that they need that surprise, and any other tactic that they can come up with to help them when they go in. Hamas is waiting for them and they are prepared - very much prepared! They had months and months to prepare for this, accumulate weapons and dig, create the most spread out web of underground tunnels through out the Gaza strip. The tunnels are state of the art, the kind a guerrilla fighter would dream about. In the tunnels, they can hide and strike when ever they want and cause a high amount of Israeli casualties. Next to Gaza, the ’06 war in southern Lebanon looks like a children’s playground!
That is also why I say don’t let tanks in there. I hope that the IDF learned its lesson from the second Lebanon war and understood that tanks are sitting ducks in an urban scenario. They can give support from the outside, but are sitting ducks when trying to go in. In Gaza, especially, they have managed to devise this weapon in which they take a big container, fill it up with explosives, and a remote detonator and bury it under a main road. When the tank or armed vehicle crosses over it, they detonate it, thus harming it where it is most vulnerable – its belly! There are very slim chances for the crew to survive such a blow.
I hope that the same quality of intelligence collected for the air strike, was collected for a ground one - it’s the only thing that would effectively protect our troops.

My prayers are with them.

Here we go...

Dear readers,
Before I even start, I would first like to say that I am proud of our government that after three-and-a-half years since the disengagement from the Gaza Strip it has finally decided to actively do something about the constant attacks by the Hamas terror organization on Israeli civilians.
In this blog, I will try to talk about the different events of this preset armed struggle and give some of the perspectives that are not in the headlines, to broaden the understanding about what’s going on in Israel, Gaza and the Middle East.
I will also do my best to answer your questions, based on my knowledge and experience.
Among other things, I am an IDF tank commander (res.) and would have been most likely mobilized along with my friends right now if I were in Israel. I write this with the little help and moral support I can give to my comrades.

Guy Har-Nir