Early morning on October 07, the Palestinian armed ensemble, Hamas, set forth with “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” a most audacious endeavor, marking a crescendo in their engagement with Israel since the tumultuous 11-day war in 2021. With claims to have dispatched no fewer than 5,000 rockets, Hamas unveiled a flamboyant display of martial prowess, while Israel, in no uncertain terms, conceded the incursion of these intrepid Hamas warriors onto its soil; this offensive encompassed land, sea, and sky.
The attack was so swift and secretly executed that Israeli intelligence was struck with utter shock. It was embarrassed and taken off-guard. One of the most interesting part of the Hamas warfare tactics was the use of motor gliders. Hamas took absolute advantage of geography – Gaza and Israel are separated just by a wall. So what they did was to fly via motor glider into the Israeli territory and started attacking their targets as planned.
The question arises, does Hamas miscalculated its move? Does it not know that the reaction would be severe and brutal? Didn’t they know that Israel with its unabated support of West, can’t be defeated merely by limited military operation like Al-Aqsa Flood? Then why this madness? Well what one can expect from people who have nothing to lose. In contrast, it was Israel that tasted its own medicine after long. More than 1400 Israelis have been killed so far and around 250 hostages, including a dozen of Americans.
On the other hand, Hamas did not play this move just as a suicide mission. Perhaps, defeating Tel Aviv was never the mission, going by simple rationale. Hamas achieved its objectives. It shames Israeli military power and intelligence, and bitterly expose it to the world. It is pertinent to note that, Gaza is under comprehensive surveillance of Israeli forces. Nothing can go inside or come outside Gaza without their permission. So, how did Hamas do it, without even whispers. They might have relied mostly on human resources for communication and avoided using and tech-gadget at all. Plus, over years of war and conversion of Gaza, literally into an open air prison by Israel, Hamas adopted survival tactics. Over decades, they have established complex web of underground tunnels, well lit and with oxygen provision, used for supplies inside and outside of Gaza. So, they must have brought in supplies through these tunnel to carry out an attack on Israel.
Furthermore, they retracted the normalization of Palestine issue. It also halted the ever growing Arab-Israel relations. Palestine showed themselves again on the world map. They showed that they will fight to death if they have to, but they won’t give up. They have won the mind game and attained superiority in war tactics, infiltrating deep into so-called Israeli territories and carried out operations time way longer than expected. Earlier, Israel was considered impossible to penetrate.
This was simply between natives and occupied forces. A war to reclaim their land, which was snatched in the backdrop of imperial designs of the West. Here, it is important to mention that America and Israel have this thing in common; both migrated to alien lands, fought the natives, excluded them and found a new country for themselves. Afterwards, proudly thumping their chests for defeating the uncivilized people and taking the seat of civilized leaders of the world. So, don’t believe West, when they tell you that Hamas militants or Palestinians are the real threat for Israel. In fact, its other way round: just gave you the history teaser.
At present, Israel is unleashing its wrath on Gaza. So far, over 2500 Palestinians have been killed and more than 9000 wounded. Over 60% of both these figures comprise women and children. Israel is engaged in war crimes and have transgressed the limits of ruthlessness. Foods and water is almost finished. Power is gone. No humanitarian and emergency supplies are allowed. Bombing building indiscriminately are still on. Children and women are left to sleep – if at all – on rubbles, underneath which are dead bodies. The smell of rotting dead bodies of Palestinians is all in the air. However, the personification of world’s humanity and character did not flinch, even for a second.
More so, Israeli boots are on the ground outside Gaza. Their plan is to invade Gaza strip and do search combing operation – finding and killing Hamas members. Additionally, finding those complex web of tunnels and destroying them, so that these can’t be used in future against them. On the other hand, it might be a trap by Hamas, to strike Israel so hard to compel them into Gaza on ground. This would then turn into urban guerrilla warfare, which Hamas specializes in. Gaza is a complex urban environment characterized by towering buildings, concealed enemy strongholds, and treacherous, booby-trapped passageways. In this challenging setting, every floor of each building poses a potential threat. Furthermore, beneath the surface of this hostile city, a network of tunnels not only shelters Hamas fighters but also holds as many as 250 Israeli and American hostages, adding to the complexity and of the situation. Remember that in urban warfare, the naïve people are always at the advantage, as they know every inch of their surroundings. This is why Israel has not been able to enter yet.
This is why Israel has started using Phosphorus gas as a weapon. It is banned or heavily regulated due to their severe humanitarian and environmental consequences. When used in warfare, white phosphorus can cause devastating injuries, as it ignites upon contact with human skin, resulting in excruciating burns that are difficult to treat and can lead to long-term disabilities. Moreover, these weapons have indiscriminate effects, posing a risk to both combatants and civilians in the vicinity. The environmental impact is also a significant concern, as white phosphorus can ignite fires, causing damage to vegetation and long-lasting ecological harm.
International law prohibits the use of white phosphorus in a manner that violates humanitarian principles, and it is considered a war crime when used inappropriately. Therefore, there are international agreements and regulations in place to restrict or prohibit its use, particularly against civilian populations, to prevent these grave consequences and uphold humanitarian standards. Now imagine, the use of Phosphorus gas in the most densely populated neighborhood in the world – Gaza. This simply means one thing that Israel wants to wipe out Palestinians from Gaza crushing the international law and humanity under its feet and West is complicit.
Not to forget, if the Israeli boots enter Gaza, this would pull in Lebanese based Hezbollah group fully into the conflict. This would open a second front of Israel. Besides that, Iran could also erect militia group in Syria against Israel, opening a third front for Israel. Correspondingly, US and UK warships are anchored in Mediterranean Sea as a deterrence in support of Israel. The expansion of conflict radius can then induce a ripple effect, taking whole region sucked into an intricate conflict.
Latest, Israel and US have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza. This might be another war tactic. First to keep regional Muslims nations at a distance, showing them that Israel is concerned about civilians and is only against Hamas. This way Israel and US will buy more time to strategize their options in swiftly unfolding situation. If humanitarian corridor proposal is properly implemented, this should also give enough time to Muslim nations, particularly in the region to counter Israel’s strategy.
Nevertheless, the Israeli deadly and inhumane strike at Al Ahli, somehow seems to be litmus test, evaluation the depth of concern and sentiment of Muslim leadership. OIC statement tells a lot about this; none of Muslim countries are really bothered. All they have given is hollow statements and aid, except Iran which is explicitly supporting Hamas. It is yet to be seen how long Muslim leadership can remain indifferent, as anger is boiling across the Muslim world, particularly after Al Ahli attack.
Whatever the way out is, the world must realize, without an independent and secure Palestine, the legitimate fight for the fundamental right of Palestinians over their homeland will never conclude.
