“You still see Gaza from the outside, but soon you will see it from the inside.” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant did not hesitate to talk about it when he addressed his soldiers: Israel will invade. This is only because almost no one in Israel believes that Hamas’s horrific attack can go unpunished. It will also radiate weakness, which is unimaginable militarily and politically.

What would this ground attack look like? It is partial conjecture that, even between the recording and publication of these speculations, Israel may have already entered. It may also take days, if not weeks.

Tunnels

In a sense, the ground offensive has already begun, and elite units are on the move and trying to determine the dangers inherent in invading a strip only ten kilometers wide, where Hamas is flexible, fighting on familiar terrain and has managed to do so. To prepare “surprises”. The Israeli army announced that a soldier was killed on Sunday.

Israel is also collecting data on the 210 hostages. The assumption is that Hamas keeps them spread out in small groups in a massive network of underground tunnels and distinguishes between “foreigners” (often Israelis with dual citizenship), civilians and soldiers. How many are still alive?

Where is the Hamas military leadership hiding? The political leaders had already left for Qatar with their families two weeks before the attack, another piece of evidence that Israel missed.

One of the biggest problems facing Israel are the tunnels, also called the Underground, which are comparable in size to those in London, where Hamas leaders and fighters reside, and which are also used to manufacture and store weapons. Fighting in this maze is a deadly mission. Israel says that Hamas’s headquarters will be located beneath the largest hospital in Gaza City. We already know what the repercussions of a missile fired by Israel or others at the hospital are.

Gallant stages

Israeli Defense Minister Galant presented his military plan in broad terms last week. The first phase is now underway: a military campaign that includes air strikes and subsequent ground maneuvers with the aim of breaking resistance and destroying Hamas’ infrastructure. In the second phase, fighting will continue at a lower intensity, with “troops working on the ground to eliminate pockets of resistance.”

The third stage is the establishment of a buffer zone in the north, which is a permanent off-limits area for the Palestinians, from which Israel will eventually withdraw and then “throw the keys into the sea.” In this new situation, Israel bears no responsibility towards Gaza, neither regarding water or electricity supplies or anything else, and keeps its borders tightly closed. The only “out” is the southern border with Egypt.

“It’s not going to happen in a day or a week or, I’m sorry, a month,” Gallant said.

If only we had such a leader

Aside from all the obstacles hindering this process and the absence of any mention of a political solution, the long period and many expected deaths may have repercussions on other fronts. What if Hamas killed a small number of hostages every day, or said it would release some of them if Israel stopped fighting? What happens next in Israel, where family members are already demonstrating to demand the release of their loved ones?

What will the Palestinians do in the West Bank, where Israel is still working with the Palestinian president? And in Israel itself, where 20% of the Palestinians are? Dozens were arrested for pro-Hamas posts on social media. Finally, the north, where Israel evacuated tens of thousands due to the potential escalation with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel is said to have even planned a small incursion into Gaza as a diversionary maneuver before launching a surprise pre-emptive attack on Hezbollah, Israeli commentators reported on television. The American President would have stopped that.

Biden now holds Israel in a “bear hug.” His photo is in IsraelWar room“So it was no coincidence. His sympathetic speech made many Israelis sigh: If only we had such a leader. He promised huge sums of money and thus also tried to curb the Israeli attack on Gaza.

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