NEW GAZA STRATEGY ANALYSIS: The targeted operation in Jabaliya is an example of the type of combat in Gaza that we can expect to see going forward. The IDF has withdrawn from the major urban centers like Gaza City and Khan Yunis, and they wait for Hamas terrorists to come out of their tunnels and try to make a resurgence. Once a large enough group of them are observed in a certain area, the IDF launches a precision raid over a few days to kill the terrorists and capture/destroy their weapons. Gaza is increasingly being referred to as a “closed bathtub” because Hamas is completely cut off. They cannot resupply, they cannot train new fighters, and they cannot recover from losses; their numbers and fighting ability is finite. Every terrorist that Israel kills and every weapon cache that they destroy is one more that Hamas cannot replace. Israel does not need to risk the lives of soldiers by leaving units inside all of Gaza; they can remain on the edge and observe everything that’s going on. When Hamas tries to come out and take over again, Israel strikes fiercely and immediately until Hamas has no one and nothing left to fight with.
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