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It’s been a wild eighteen months since the Swords of Iron War kicked off, and security sources dropped a bombshell on Wednesday that’s got me shaking my head harder than a bobblehead in an earthquake.
According to Channel 12, the IDF has only managed to take out about a quarter of Hamas’ tunnels in Gaza. One quarter!
That’s anemic.
The report claims the defense establishment is convinced there’s a whole mess of smuggling tunnels snaking across the Egyptian border. This comes as Israel digs its heels in, refusing to budge from the Philadelphi Corridor, even though the so-called experts keep saying that holding it won’t stop the under-the-table—or rather, under-the-sand—smuggling game.
Defense Minister Israel Katz isn’t buying the naysayers’ line, though.
Meanwhile, the IDF’s still pounding the pavement—or what’s left of it—in Gaza, with plans to ramp up the ground game unless some miracle pops up in the negotiations. Good luck with that--there's a better chance of being struck by a meteor in Times Square at noon on a Tuesday.
Here’s where it gets weird, though. Channel 12 says that since the fighting flared up again, Hamas operatives have turned into the Road Runner, hightailing it out of IDF zones and dodging soldiers like they’re allergic to a fair fight. The defense establishment says the combat’s gone all decentralized, with barely any face-to-face showdowns. Maybe that’s why there’s still a giant web of tunnels down there the IDF hasn’t even sniffed out, let alone blown to kingdom come.
The report claims the defense establishment is convinced there’s a whole mess of smuggling tunnels snaking across the Egyptian border. This comes as Israel digs its heels in, refusing to budge from the Philadelphi Corridor, even though the so-called experts keep saying that holding it won’t stop the under-the-table—or rather, under-the-sand—smuggling game.
Arms are flowing to Hamas like cheap beer and box wine at a frat party, and everyone’s got an opinion.
Defense Minister Israel Katz isn’t buying the naysayers’ line, though.
Earlier this year, at some fancy conference for regional council bigwigs, he doubled down. “I saw with my own eyes quite a few infiltrating tunnels in Philadelphi,” Katz said. “Some of them are closed, and some are open! We had intelligence that Hamas, during the ceasefire, planned to attack soldiers and towns.”
Sounds like he’s ready to turn that corridor into a buffer zone tougher than a two-dollar steak, just like they’ve done in Lebanon and Syria.
Meanwhile, the IDF’s still pounding the pavement—or what’s left of it—in Gaza, with plans to ramp up the ground game unless some miracle pops up in the negotiations. Good luck with that--there's a better chance of being struck by a meteor in Times Square at noon on a Tuesday.
Here’s where it gets weird, though. Channel 12 says that since the fighting flared up again, Hamas operatives have turned into the Road Runner, hightailing it out of IDF zones and dodging soldiers like they’re allergic to a fair fight. The defense establishment says the combat’s gone all decentralized, with barely any face-to-face showdowns. Maybe that’s why there’s still a giant web of tunnels down there the IDF hasn’t even sniffed out, let alone blown to kingdom come.
It’s like Hamas is playing whack-a-mole, and we’re still looking for the mallet.
Thoughts?
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