Is Raf OK? -- Installment #62
2023-12-27 -- Corfu
Tags: 4 Min Read; Jumbo Relief Area!
A Gazan's Words
Something visible up close: Israel has Arabic language hotlines for Gazans to call. Israel solicits calls to report: Harassment by Hamas of Gazans (moving out of combat zones, using IDF migration routes, getting food, etc.); Tunnel locations; and other topics. Typically these conversations are not interesting. Here is one that paints up Gaza: (2 Min, Arabic with English Subtitles)
The IDF spokesperson released a recording of a conversation in Arabic between an IDF officer and a resident of Gaza regarding the aid entering the Strip through the Rafah crossing: food, drink, medical equipment, diesel and gas.
In the conversation, the resident clarifies that Hamas has a hand in everything. It completely controls the aid administered by UNRWA - the UN Refugee Agency.
The officer asks Gazan: Didn't you try to talk to the UNRWA people about Hamas taking over the aid? Then, at minute 01:31 of the recording, the Gazan says a key phrase that should catch the attention of everyone in Israel and abroad:
يا سيدي، موظفي الوكالة هم حماس
Sir, UNRWA officials they are Hamas
Anshel Pfeffer in Ha'aretz
It shouldn't be surprising that Israel hasn't taken out Hamas' leadership and command structure yet. Both sides were ready for this war and have made the most of their very different advantages.
Nearly three months into the fighting against Hamas in Gaza, a malaise is starting to creep into the Israeli conversation about the war. This is only natural considering the fatality lists that are published every morning, and sometimes in the evening as well.
Days are passing with few details of the fighting released beyond the bland statements on the "forces that are continuing to advance" in various neighborhoods of Gaza City and Khan Yunis. And many of the reservists who were called up on October 7 have yet to be discharged.
Headlines in the Israeli and international media saying that "Israel isn't winning in Gaza" and "The IDF is stuck in the mud" – amid even more angry tones on social media – are only to be expected. But that doesn't mean they reflect the situation. They're only exaggerated expectations.
To say at this point that the Israel Defense Forces is either losing or winning in Gaza is to totally ignore the nature of this war. Hamas prepared for 16 years for exactly this type of fighting, building its tunnel network underground and its strongholds above ground through the length, breadth and depth of Gaza's civilian urban environment.
The aim was to deter Israel from sending its troops into the alleyways. If it did, small numbers of fighters emerging from the tunnels would turn these alleyways into death traps using anti-tank rockets and improvised explosive devices, IEDs.
And the IDF prepared as well. For years now in its training exercises, it has increased its focus on urban warfare and invested in combat engineering units with an array of munitions and probes developed to detect and destroy tunnels. It has also acquired hundreds of new tanks and heavy-infantry fighting vehicles with "active" armor systems designed to protect their crews from the rocket ambushes.
Hamas' leaders committed a strategic mistake in believing they could pull off a devastating surprise attack and massacre on October 7. They thought Israel wouldn't mobilize its entire fighting force and risk sending entire divisions deep into Gaza City, destroying most of the city and displacing nearly the entire population. It's too early to say that in doing so Israel committed a strategic mistake as well.
Yitzhak Brik wrote in Ha'aretz
Destroying Hamas' tunnels will take many years, and it will cost Israel many casualties. Even the army now admits that there are hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, located deep underground, with multiple branches. Some even have multiple stories, with many good spots to stage a fight. Hamas built them over the course of decades, with advice from leading experts. They link the length and breadth of Gaza, and also connect it to the Sinai Peninsula under the city of Rafah.
Relief Area
Alef
(80 seconds)
A comment on reddit: "Yeah I don't get this drawing - Why are they humanising the rat?"
Bet - Eretz Nehederet
Gimmel
Caption above: “Looks like the instructions for building a lasting legacy have a few missing pieces.”
Dalet
I am still in Corfu. An email: "You are writing!" A response: "Copy/paste, actually! The kids climb rocks, I assemble the post."
It is great hanging out with the family zoo. I miss Tel Aviv and will be back there in a few days. Inshallah.
Stay well,
Raf
(Thanks to A.K. for feedback and content)