Currently, the situation on the border with Gaza can best be described as a tense calm. Hamas, deterred by Israel’s military power, is refraining from launching attacks out of Gaza, though it is engaged in a large-scale force build-up program.
Hamas’s war preparations include the construction of a maze of tunnels underneath Gaza City, and stocking them up with weapons.
The hope is that the current calm can hold for a long as possible, but in the event of a new full-scale conflict erupting with Hamas, this ‘underground city’ must form a key target for the IDF, argues Maj.-Gen. (Ret.) Noam Tibon.
Tibon, the former head of the IDF Northern Formation, offers incisive, experienced analysis on what Israel’s goals should be in the event of a future conflict with Hamas.
When examining the possibility of a ground operation, Tibon makes clear what the main objective should be: “To turn the underground city built by Hamas in Gaza into a death trap for Hamas operatives. Presently, this underground city enables Hamas to function as a vanishing enemy, employing lethal hit and run tactics. It emerges out of tunnels under homes, strikes likes a snake, and then disappears.”
“The IDF’s reply must be to blow up the underground city. This will require precise intelligence, and the ability to map out the subterranean assets built by Hamas.”
Tibon’s full analysis is available here.