The current stage of the Israeli operation gives a combat advantage to the Israeli forces over Hamas. This advantage is based largely on the fact that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has implemented combat lessons from the second Lebanon War in 2006, but also because of several other reasons. The IDF operated inside Gaza until 2005, and is familiar with the terrain. It has also invested a great deal of time in recent years developing urban warfare tactics and specific weapons technology.
Ground troops are entering with armour that has been specially designed for combat needs there, and the army has developed methods for collecting and distributing intelligence to the fighting forces in real time.
n the era of modern wars, which focus on armies combating terror organizations that find shelter within civilian populations, there is great importance placed on precise realistic definitions of the military goals. This is to sustain the legitimacy within society and in the international community.
Israel’s declared goals in Gaza are an improvement of the military reality in southern Israel. This is defined by disabling the military forces of Hamas as a whole and particularly its ability to continue launching missiles into Israel and to continue smuggling arms into Israel and Gaza
Hamas is a movement that is operating with terror organisation tactics by attacking civilians. It is also a political and social movement that is holding on to power in Gaza and wants to keep control.
The battle in Gaza is seen and analyze as part of the global struggle of the state of the free world against radical Islamic terrorist groups. The results of the battle in Gaza will have an influence on subsequent tactics used by the Israel Defence Forces.
This is why we can identify identical factors in the interests of the US, Israel, moderate Arab states and even the European Union, whose secretary has already described the battle for Gaza as a defensive action.