The IDF: A Plan for Gaza

by WashDCDemocrat

For two weeks, Israeli forces have been striking at Hamas installations in the Gaza strip. This has resulted in a so-far low death toll on the Israeli side - 13 dead, most of them soldiers. Residents of Gaza City, however, have suffered greatly, with a death toll in the upper hundreds. Somewhere around 350 civilians have died in the air strikes and following ground campaign, and plenty of question as to whether it will work. For us to understand this, we must know what Israel is doing in the Gaza Strip. Continued: "Read More"

Israel kicked off "Operation Cast Lead", the military campaign to end Hamas rocket attacks, on December 27th with intense air bombardment. The purpose of the aerial assault is to "shape the battlefield": to give Israeli forces a greater advantage and less work when the ground forces must, inevitabllty, move in. No war can succeed without ground forces and fight entirely from the air. However, the air strikes did manage to kill top Hamas leaders, but at a cost that the people of Gaza have been paying in blood. Hamas has responded with more rocket fire on Israeli towns and cities, but they generally do not kill many. In the two weeks of fighting, only three civilians are dead from the campaign.

Despite pressure to negotiate a ceasefire, Israel has moved on with "phase two" of Operation Cast Lead: a ground assault by infantry and armor, backed by air support. They have split Gaza into two parts, a northern and southern, to cut Hamas supply lines. The fact that many are underground complicates the plan. Other infantry and armor units are going on to complete their ultimate objective: rooting out Hamas operatives, destroying the rockets, and negating the threat. However, even if this is accomplished, there will still exist a problem to Israeli security.

Israel has stated that it does not want to reoccupy Gaza. It is not in their interests, they say. However, it is no great feat for terrorists to re-enter the Gaza strip and resume rocket fire into Israel once the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) leaves. For their plan to work, for Israel to stay secure, Israel must occupy the Gaza strip, just as America has in Iraq. Unpopular, and a thorn in Isreal's side as long as their forces are there, their alternative is an enemy camping in their own backyard.