Three months in, reporting on the Israel-Hamas War has been notably poor, focused on playing up Israel-inflicted casualties and hyping the possibility of a wider two-front war with Hezbollah rather than concrete information on whether Israel is achieving military objectives or not.
So it would be easy to miss this announcement that “IDF says it has completed the ‘dismantling of Hamas’ military framework.'”
The Israel Defense Forces claimed on Sunday that it has “completed the dismantling of Hamas’ military framework” in the northern Gaza Strip, hitting hundreds of targets and taking out key leaders of the terrorist group.
In an assessment of the first three months of the war between Israel and Hamas, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesperson, said Israeli forces have met their goals through airstrikes, ground operations and intelligence gathering in the primary objective of eliminating Hamas.
The Israel Defense Forces claimed on Sunday that it has “completed the dismantling of Hamas’ military framework” in the northern Gaza Strip, hitting hundreds of targets and taking out key leaders of the terrorist group.
In an assessment of the first three months of the war between Israel and Hamas, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesperson, said Israeli forces have met their goals through airstrikes, ground operations and intelligence gathering in the primary objective of eliminating Hamas.
Among the Hamas commanders eliminated was Ahmad Randor, Hagari said, showing what he said was a photograph of Randor sitting with his command echelon in a bunker 40 meters, or about 131 feet, underground.
“We have completed the dismantling of Hamas’ military framework in the northern Gaza Strip and will continue to deepen the achievement, strengthening the barrier and the defense components along the security fence,” Hagari said.
More:
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on January 6 that it “dismantled” the 12 Hamas battalions in the northern Gaza Strip. IDF officials added that they have dismantled Hamas’ “military framework” in the northern Gaza Strip. An Israeli Army Radio defense correspondent reported on January 6 that Israeli forces no longer permanently operate in the entire area of the northern strip and have moved to the border with Israel. IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on January 6 that the IDF would focus on the central and southern parts of the Gaza Strip and strengthen defenses along the Israel-Gaza Strip border fence. These announcements are consistent with the IDF stating that it would establish a security buffer zone in the northern Gaza Strip in the third phase of its operations. This third phase also involved Israeli forces conducting raids against Hamas compounds, destroying tunnels, killing remaining fighters, seizing intelligence and military equipment. CTP-ISW assessed on December 22 that, in Hamas’ Northern Strip Brigade and Gaza City Brigade, three battalions are combat ineffective, eight are degraded, and one is combat effective.
ISW goes on to warn that Hamas has not been completely destroyed and will likely reconstitute itself. But that’s pretty much standard operating procedures for transnational jihadist terror organizations.
No one questioned the IDF’s ability to ability to dismantle Hamas. Israel has one of the most modern, disciplined, technically savvy and motivated armed forces in the world. (Having enemies who literally call for the complete extermination of the Jewish race is a powerful motivator.) Hamas, on the other hand, is a terrorist organization whose main skills seem to be raping and murdering civilians and building tunnels. The only question was whether the the feckless, Iran-dealing Biden Administration and it’s Obama foreign policy retreads would be able to pressure Israel into halting before the job was done. That appears not to be the case.
Another sign that IDF has succeeded is the distinct lack of apparent Hamas activity in Gaza.
Today’s Livemap snapshot shows one rocket strike into Israel and one dead Al Jazerra journalist in Gaza. There’s precious little sign of any organized, robust Hamas military resistance left in Gaza.
Nor are there any signs of Hezbollah “opening up a second front.”
Though Hezbollah evidently launched rockets at an Israeli base this weekend, right now they’re only firing off the occasional mortar. Rockets and mortar attacks like this are just common terrorist pinpricks, and do not constitute anything like a “second front.” Meanwhile, Israeli planes are hitting Hezbollah positions with impunity.
What constitutes victory for the Israeli government? It took fourteen years after the end of Operation Cast Lead for Hamas to reconstitute itself. Assuming the Shia fundamentalist government remains in power in Iran (which in turn depends on how badly American Democratic Administrations want to prop it up), then maybe we can look forward to a similar period of relative peace on Israel’s southern front.
And presumably Israel won’t be caught asleep at the switch again the next time Hamas stages a big attack.
Tags: Ahmad Randor, Arab-Israeli Wars, Hamas, Israel, Israel-Hamas War, Military, terrorism
The real “center of gravity” in this war isn’t Hamas; it’s UNWRA. Until and unless Israel puts an end to their iniquitous influence, this isn’t going to be anything other than another iteration of a game of whack-a-mole.
As with so many other conflicts, the real issue and opponents are missed by the delusional. The US went after Afghanistan and Iraq; the real enemy was in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Trillions of dollars wasted.
I think it’s inevitable that the Israeli situation is going to be resolved by what amounts to one side or the other committing an effective genocide. It’ll either happen by means of a cultural genocide, or it’ll happen by physical means when one side or another gets enough of an upper hand in terms of power and international prestige/mindspace. I don’t see it ever being resolved “peacefully”, unless it’s the peace of the grave imposed by some outside influence like a falling asteroid. Too many entrenched positions on both sides, and the cultures simply do not understand each other well enough to ever do the things that would bring “peace”. The Gazans are not going to accept anything other than wiping out Israel, at this point. And, the “international community” ain’t likely to let Israel do the necessary when it comes to UNWRA.
Are their tunnels filled up with seawater, crude oil, pig lard, etc? If no, then not yet done. Don’t let their warmaking infrastructure remain usable.
“I don’t see it ever being resolved ‘peacefully’, unless it’s the peace of the grave imposed by some outside influence like a falling asteroid.”
The Greeks drove out the Ottoman Turks from the Balkans in the late 19th Century. You would think that the matter would have been “resolved” except that even today the Mohammmedans in Bosnia-Herzegovina remain as a fighting force, thanks in no small part to US support given by the Clinton administration.
Once established, Islam seems impossible to eradicate. European and American sympathy for the PLA suggests that the best hope for Israel is to periodically deal a severe blow to the followers of Mohamed. As such, it would be folly to prematurely declare the war in Gaza finished.
Netanyahu maintains that the IDF will have to remain there for a year until the last vestiges of Gazan militancy have been suppressed.
Hamas will be like the 17 year locust, staying under ground and regaining strength until emerging to wreak havoc again.
Its not it’s
Why would the job being more or less done in the northern Gaza Strip mean overall victory is at hand? What about the mid- and southern Gaza Strip?
Why would the job being more or less done in the northern Gaza Strip mean that overall victory is at hand? What about the mid- and southern (or SW) Gaza Strip? Why wouldn’t Hamas in those parts be laying low in an attempt to survive the current Israeli onslaught?
Hamas will continue to receive funding from Israeli and US governments, as it always has. Israel’s sole rationale for existence is to protect Jews against perfidious attack. If Jews are not subject to deadly attack, Israel’s existence is hard to explain. The Israeli government can only continue to generate revenue to pay its own politicians if an external threat exists. Absent that, there is no reason for anyone to live in the desert.
If Hamas and Hezbollah did not exist, the politicians would have to invent them. The Holocaust has long since disappeared into the rear-view mirror. According to Pew, Jews under the age of 30 don’t see Israel’s relevance. Thus, it is in everyone’s interest to generate body bags at least once a decade in order to keep the appropriate grifters (American, Israeli, Iranian, etc.) living in the style to which they have become accustomed.
Do a lot of civilians get killed as a result?
Sure.
But how else does one get the requisite morning omelette?
If the IDF declares victory too soon, they’ll have to do it all over again in a decade. Just like we did with Iraq in Kuwait i 1990, and then have to return in 2003.
Finish the job.
“Once established, Islam seems impossible to eradicate.”
Somebody tell that to the Spanish Inquisition.
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They need to kill the ones in Qatar to declare victory.
Hamas official in Qatar reportedly fled a while back.
“ Somebody tell that to the Spanish Inquisition.”
And to think it took only 900 years to purge the Iberian Peninsula…