Saurabh Kumar Shahi, researcher and journalist specialized in West and South Asian Affairs.
It’s been two months of the Zionist regime’s operations in Gaza as I write this. And nothing can summarise it better than what an analyst quipped sardonically; “In its two-month-long operation in Gaza, Israel has managed to kill more officers from the United Nations than it has managed to kill Resistance Commanders.” What’s spectacular about this statement is that it is not being made metaphorically but as a matter of fact.
Meanwhile, the Zionist regime’s propaganda onslaught, Hasbara, is trying to put on a brave face. With the use of sleek graphics and fast-edited videos, it is trying to give the impression that it has somehow managed to subdue North Gaza and finished the Resistance Axis from there. It believes, rather erroneously this time though, that such media manipulation will break the will of the supporters of the Palestinian Cause in general and the votaries of the Resistance Axis in particular. Nothing can be farther from the truth.
Let’s analyse some of its bombastic claims. Its primary claim is that it has “surrounded” North Gaza. This claim is disingenuous at best. Gaza was already surrounded. This is not a military achievement. What it achieved is that it entered the sparsely populated Wadi Gaza area from the east and penetrated until the seashore to the west thereby effectively splitting Gaza into North and South Gazas. It has also managed to enter from the northwest and made a push along the seashore linking up with its forces moving along the East-West Axis along Wadi Gaza.
Except for these two sparsely populated axes where the Resistance does not possess the subterranean infrastructure to mount an effective challenge, the IDF has found it difficult to establish infantry launchpads let alone establish a command and control centre. In total, it has managed to occupy merely 40 percent of North Gaza which is just 150 square kilometres in size. And do notice that I have used the term “occupy” here, and not “controlled.” This is because in most of the areas that it has “occupied,” IDF doesn’t have a permanent presence. IAF does a massive air bombardment followed by concentrated artillery fire and then the Armoured Column tries to make a push that too without the infantry support lest the infantry is not captured by the Resistance. During the first two phases, fighters from the Resistance wait for the let-up and only attack when the soldiers alight from the tank, hitting them from close quarters. This is mostly achieved by firing either the Yassin anti-armour shells or battle-proven analogues of Russian anti-armour missiles such as Kornet and Konkurs. In most cases, this sends the IDF soldiers scurrying back to the starting point often after doing a quick propaganda photo-op.
This has been the situation in the two of the other axes, one from the northeast and the other in the southeast of North Gaza. This became apparent when the Resistance selected Palestine Square in the centre and Karni Crossing in the southeast of Gaza City as the location for handing over Israeli prisoners to the ICRC during the brief truce. This proved that all that the IDF claimed in front of the camera about “controlling” North Gaza was no more than the Operational Choreography.
It is also important to remember here that the Zionist regime has deployed the crème de la crème of the IDF including the famed Nahal, Golai and Givati Brigades apart from Special Forces from Shayetet 13 and Sayeret Matkal, both of which had suffered debilitating causalities by the hands of the Resistance in the October 7 insurrection. A total of 100,000 IDF soldiers are participating in the fight in various capacities apart from the Reservists who have been mobilised. That such a huge mass of soldiers has not managed to occupy let alone control 150 Sq. kilometres of the area is a testament to its defeat.
The second specified goal of the Zionist regime was the destruction of the command and control structure of the Resistance Axis inside Gaza. It has failed to achieve this goal even more spectacularly. While a few mid-rung and one high-rung commander, Al-Qassam’s northern commander and military council member Ahmed al-Ghandour was martyred, by and large, the IDF has not managed to impact the structure in any meaningful way. The very fact that the Resistance managed to strike the truce on its own terms—something it had offered as early as 8th October—and at the time and place of its own choosing is proof of this. Picture this; different factions of the Resistance not only coordinated effortlessly with each other and managed to deliver prisoners through coordination indicates that the inter-faction communication is robust and unhindered. It is also important to understand here that not only the Zionist regime, but its allies the US and the UK also deployed the most modern and cutting-edge technology for 45 days to locate the prisoners but failed spectacularly. The third specified goal of liberating these prisoners was also not achieved without striking a truce with the Resistance and toeing its demands.
This negotiation from the position of strength was explained by noted Palestinian analyst Ramzy Baroud in these terms; “Hamas’ position has not changed. The same cannot be said about Israel. The Israeli position, whether political or military, is that of confusion and contradictions. As soon as Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas, learned that Israel had violated the conditions of the truce on Tuesday, November 28, as soon as it responded. Again, the message of Hamas is that the movement has not agreed to the truce from a position of weakness, and is willing to resume the fighting as soon as it is necessary to do so.”
Now that the battle has started again, what should we expect? After being unable to achieve any of its operational or even tactical goals in the first phase, the IDF is now trying to stretch the Resistance’s military might thin. By starting the operations in South Gaza, it hopes that it will manage to force the Resistance to fight on two fronts making it less effective. But this is easier said than done. IDF is yet to venture into the heavily built-up areas of North Gaza such as the site of the erstwhile Jabalia refugee camp and the Resistance’s strongholds of al-Zaitoun and al-Shujaiya. It is here that the subterranean infrastructure of the resistance is the most prominent. A day before the truce, the IDF attempted its first serious push to enter the side roads of Gaza City and admitted to 13 deaths in its ranks. Sources on the ground maintain that the casualties suffered by the IDF are at least three times more than what it ultimately claims. Even at the al-Shatti beach camp, a neighbourhood that is practically surrounded from three sides and with limited subterranean infrastructure for the Resistance to make use of, the IDF has thus far not managed to penetrate in any meaningful way.
The strategic victory achieved by the Resistance Axis on 7th October can't be undone now. The Zionist regime knows it. Its wanton use of force against civilians in Gaza is a testament to this. The failure to even win a tactical victory in two months of attack has further increased that frustration. And therefore the attacks on civilians and infrastructure have sharpened. But no amount of wanton destruction can hide its strategic defeat. Frustrated by the non-realisation of any of its military goals, the Zionist regime has once again started killing civilians and targeting civil infrastructure.
(The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Khamenei.ir.)
