Region | Palestinian Territories
Israel haunted by Lebanon mistakes in Gaza, say Egyptian military experts
Intensifying its ground incursion in Gaza, Israel is at pains to avoid repeating its mistakes in Lebanon in 2006 when it suffered high causalities, say Egyptian military experts.
- By Ramadan Al Sherbini, Correspondent
- Published: 14:38 January 5, 2009
Cairo: Intensifying its ground incursion in Gaza, Israel is at pains to avoid repeating its mistakes in Lebanon in 2006 when it suffered high causalities, say Egyptian military experts.
"When it comes to ground combat, the Israeli soldier's performance is often below the par," said Mohammad Badr, a military expert, who served during Egypt's 1973 war against Israel. "Hamas fighters and even the ordinary Palestinians in Gaza have nothing to lose. They have been suffering starvation under a relentless Israeli blockade for more than one year now. They are ready to die in dignity, which is not the case with the Israeli soldiers who are used to 'remote-controlled' fighting, not face-to-face combat," Badr told Gulf News.
He believes that by opting to launch a ground offensive after eight days of intense aerial bombardment on Gaza, Israel wants to establish new facts on the ground "to strengthen its position in any upcoming negotiations" with Hamas.
"The fact that Hamas continues to fire its rockets at Israeli towns proves that Israel has failed so far to achieve one key aim of its current military campaign against Gaza," said Badr. "Hamas, meanwhile, does not eye a military win over Israel. Its goal is to demoralize and humiliate the Israeli military establishment as Lebanon's Hezbollah did in 2006. Such a psychological victory can boost its stature and legitimacy among the Palestinians."
Unleashing its massive military onslaught on Gaza, (home to 1.5 million) on December 27, Israel said it wanted to stop rockets fired from the Hamas-controlled enclave at its southern towns. The Israeli attacks came one week after an Egyptian-brokered truce with Hamas expired. More than 500 Palestinians have been killed in the assaults.
"The aim of the Israeli ground operation is to carve up the Gaza Strip into three sectors, thereby tightening the noose around Hamas," said Jamal Mazloum, another Egyptian military strategist. "The Israeli army did everything before deciding to go ahead with the ground offensive to avoid undergoing the disastrous experience it had at the hands of Hezbollah in 2006."
According to Mazloum, Hamas, though militarily inferior to Israel, could be superior on the ground. "Hamas is familiar with Gaza's terrain. Thus, the Israeli soldiers can fid themselves engaged in guerrilla-style battles in Gaza's densely populated cities," Mazloum, an ex-army general, told Gulf News.
"Israel's ground operation is unlikely to end soon. It may run for more than one week, raising the possibility for high causalities on both sides, especially among the Palestinian civilians."
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