Israel At War – Day 19
Another Ground Attack May Be Coming

Gaza Ground Offensive Imminent

The constant air barrage of Gaza continues in preparation of the ground offensive to root out and eliminate Hamas. Involved in this is destroying the massive tunnel system where it is thought that terrorists are hiding out. As we heard from one of the freed hostages, she was led through a labyrinth of tunnels to where she was held so we know that this clearing of them will need more than bunker buster bombs to accomplish the job. They will likely need to send soldiers into them which will be extremely dangerous and heavy casualties are probably going to occur. The Israel Defense Force (IDF) knows this and they also know that a cease fire or surrender by Hamas is not in the cards so accomplishing this part of the war will be difficult at best. Here is how a report from CBN.com describes the task of the challenge of cleaning out these tunnels (see https://www2.cbn.com/news/israel/prime-challenge-israels-gaza-ground-invasion-hamas-terror-tunnel-network) :

The Israeli military included in its report on the strikes against Gaza terror targets this week that fighter jets had destroyed a tunnel which gave Hamas fighters quick access to the sea … Military analyses of the network tunnels give estimates as high as 1,300 tunnels at a depth of 70 yards underground, with passages measuring more than two yards high and two yards wide.

John Spencer at West Point's Modern War Institute wrote, "In total, there were believed to be over three hundred miles of tunnels in 2021, when Israel claimed to have destroyed sixty miles of tunnels during an eleven-day bombing campaign. Even if those tunnels have not been rebuilt or replaced, that means that it is likely that there remain hundreds of miles of intricate, complex, and deep tunnel infrastructure in Gaza. It is a veritable city underneath the cities on Gaza’s surface."…

In Spencer's estimation, "Hamas will have already placed its leadership, fighters, headquarters, communication, weapons, and supplies like water, food, ammunition in its tunnel complexes to prepare for the ground assault by Israeli forces. The tunnels will allow fighters to move between a series of fighting positions safely and freely under massive buildings, even after the IDF drop thousand-pound bombs on them."

Despite the immense challenges posed by the Hamas network, the I.D.F's response is likely to be historic. Spencer notes that the I.D.F. is on the vanguard of what is called in military terms "subterranean warfare."

He suggests that the task remains formidable, even with Israel's advancements in specialty personnel and technology.

"Hamas will likely put civilians and hostages in their tunnels as human shields," Spencer wrote. "All of this means that Israel will have to take a deliberate approach to each of the tunnels they will discover."

It is also believed that many of the remaining hostages are held in these tunnels, which only makes the operation more complex.

Attacks On America Are A Concern

The political tensions in the region are only getting higher as Iran attacks United States posts in the area. For its part, America isn’t wanting to get involved in the war because if they do, Russia may feel the need to help as well. If that happens, WWIII could become a very real thing. For now America will respond when only provoked as this quote from an abcnews.com article (see https://abcnews.go.com/International/us-ruling-retaliation-iran-backed-groups-after-attacks/story?id=104255343) :

"My warning to the ayatollah [is] that if they continue to move against those troops, we will respond, and he should be prepared," Biden told reporters, referring to Iran's supreme leader.

Pentagon officials have echoed that.

"We will always maintain the inherent right of self-defense. And if there is a response, should we choose to have one, we would do that at a time and place of our choosing," Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Tuesday.

"We are preparing for this escalation both in terms of defending our forces and responding decisively," he said.

The article goes on to stress the reticence of getting involved in the Israeli war against Hamas:

Ahead of any potential retaliatory moves, the U.S. has also sought to tamp down fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spiral out in the Middle East -- in the kind of escalation not seen there in decades.

"The United States does not seek conflict with Iran. We do not want this war to widen," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. "But if Iran or its proxies attack U.S. personnel anywhere, make no mistake: We will defend our people, we will defend our security -- swiftly and decisively."

The Northern Theater Heats Up

As I have said before, this war could branch out to a conflict with Hezbollah in the north if Hezbollah invades Israel there and it appears that they are building up forces there now. Add to this the problems brewing in the West Bank and you have the elements for more than a war with just Hamas. Right now, such hostilities are very real with Hezbollah as seen in this short report found on The Times Of Israel (see https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-its-air-defense-systems-intercepted-surface-to-air-missile-from-lebanon/) :

The Israel Defense Forces says air defense systems intercepted a surface-to-air missile launched from Lebanon at an Israeli military drone.

The UAV was apparently not damaged in the attempt.

Another aircraft struck the source of the missile fire in southern Lebanon, the IDF adds.

More and more of these attacks are cropping up every day and it isn’t a coincidence that the IDF has not only sent 100,000 troops to that area, but are also carrying out training there as well.

Netanyahu Will Give Answers

We’ve talked about this before, but in a primetime speech Prime Minister Netanyahu says answers for why Israel was caught off guard on October 7th will come. Here is how that speech went in another article from The Times Of Israel (see https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-following-war-everyone-will-have-to-answer-for-failures-including-me/?utm_source=article_hpsidebar&utm_medium=desktop_site&utm_campaign=liveblog_entry) :

“October 7 was a black day in our history. We will get to the bottom of what happened on the southern border and the Gaza-envelope area,” Netanyahu said in a live primetime address.

“The debacle will be checked to the full,” he added. “Everyone will have to give answers on the debacle — including me — but all that will happen only after the war.”

Netanyahu said that as prime minister, “I am responsible for securing the future of the country. And right now, my job is to lead the State of Israel and the people to a crushing victory over our enemies. Now is the time to join forces for one goal: to surge forward to victory… with deep faith in the justice of our cause.”

Netanyahu also had strong words for Hamas:

“All Hamas members are dead men walking — above and below ground, inside and outside Gaza,” he said. “Together with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Minister Benny Gantz, the security cabinet, the chief of staff and heads of the security organizations, we are working around the clock in order to achieve the war aims until victory, and doing so without political considerations.”

No To The Two State Solution

While I could give you quotes on this, the two state solution just keeps rearing its ugly head no matter how many times Israel tries it and it fails. It will continue to fail as long as the Palestinian leadership refuses to acknowledge Israel and its right to exist. Biden mentioned the “solution” today and said we must go to it again in a comments while they hosted the prime minister from Australia. Israel, for its part stated that the two state experiment is over and statehood for Palestinians will not be next to Israel ever again. With all of the surrounding nations not willing to give up part of their land for it to happen, the prospects are not good for it to ever happen. For believers, we know that this clash of peoples goes all the way back to Genesis and two brothers, Isaac and Ishmael. And I and others believe that this struggle will end when the Psalm 83 war concludes which could be happening sooner than we think. Will it be a bloodless battle? Not likely and so we do need to pray that the casualties will be low. And continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem which looks like it will be at a high cost.