Here’s What Israeli Troops Can Expect When They Enter Gaza
It’s going to be some of the toughest urban fighting since the Second Battle of Fallujah.
Mogadishu, Somalia (the Black Hawk Down incident), the Battle of Huế City in Vietnam, and the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II, all have one shared characteristic: dense urban fighting that was as ferocious as it was tragic… Tragic because of the civilian deaths caught between the warring factions.
At this moment, Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers are preparing for a ground offensive in Gaza. When they cross the border, they will enter a nightmarish combination of tightly packed buildings, booby-trapped doors and windows, a vast tunnel network, enemy militants who will attempt to blend in among civilians, and an opponent who wants to die in battle.
Worse, cities typically favor the defender.
Every building will be its own mini siege requiring dozens of IDF infantrymen to clear. Larger tower apartment blocks will require hundreds of IDF soldiers to clear.
Enemy fire can come from any direction and IDF soldiers will not find refuge in armored vehicles. If the Ukraine War has taught us anything, it’s that modern armor is much more vulnerable today than in the past.
