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Running on Empty?

Doug Watt
@DougWatt
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There have been many questions asked about the Israeli delay in the invasion of Gaza. Some say that the US and other nations are responsible for the delay.

Perhaps the answer has more to do with military tactics. Israel is not allowing fuel deliveries into Gaza. When the fuel for generators is depleted, Hamas fighters will have to leave their tunnels and face Israeli armor and air strikes.

From the ISW October 24 Iran Update:

Hamas hostage negotiations collapsed after Hamas demanded that Israel allow fuel deliveries into the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said that fuel will not enter the strip because Hamas uses fuel for its military infrastructure. Israeli sources said that Israel estimates that Hamas and allied militias are low on fuel and will need to leave their tunnel networks underneath the Gaza Strip once their fuel is depleted. Hamas and allied Palestinian militias took hostages during the October 7 attack likely to discourage an Israeli ground operation into the Gaza Strip and/or to secure concessions of some kind. Israeli actions and rhetoric suggest that Hamas and allied militias will fail to generate those desired effects, however. Israel is continuing to prepare for a possible ground operation into the Gaza Strip, and the Wall Street Journal reported that Israel- Hamas and its allies are preparing the information environment to blame Israel for the possible deaths of hostages in the Gaza Strip, especially if Hamas begins killing hostages. Hamas military spokesperson Abu Ubaida said on October 9 that Hamas would kill hostages in response to Israeli airstrikes, indicating Hamas’ willingness to do so for perceived military and/or political gains. Tasnim News Agency—an Iranian outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—reported on October 22 that Israel’s “clandestine goal” is to “cause the killing of captive Israelis,” according to “informed sources. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) spokesperson Abu Hamza said on October 24 that Israel does not “pay attention” to the lives of hostages.

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Discussion (16)

  • JoelB@JoelB

    I can't help but think of Iwo Jima and the brutal warfare that was necessary to take out the Japanese forces when the Gaza tunnels are mentioned. Prayers for divine intervention are in order.

  • Doug Watt@DougWatt
    ReplyingtoTex929rr

    Tex929rr (View Comment):

    I’d love to think that when the Biden apparatchiki advise the Israelis to wait that they act as if they grudgingly acquiesce, all while holding a different plan in mind.

    The only military advice the IDF should take is from US Soldiers and Marines that fought in Fallujah and the battle for the Cemetery in Najaf, as well as the pilots that provided close air support in Iraq and Afghanistan.

  • Manny@Manny

    That’s an interesting thought and it might be. It seem to me that the longer the delay, the more the world galvanizes against supporting Israel. The closer in time the retribution is to the crime, the more justified it looks. The delay is planting a subtle disconnect between the Hamas inhumanity and the Israeli response. For the sake of public opinion I would not advocate this delay. If the tactical advantage, though, is substantial then I can understand. It better be substantial.

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