Status: 03.11.2023, 20:28 PM
By: Lukas Rogalla
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An Israeli army artillery howitzer moves toward a position near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel amid ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas. © Jack Guez/AFP
Israeli troops continue their ground offensive in Gaza. A French expert fears that Hamas could set traps.
Gaza City – In the conflict with Hamas, the Israeli army (IDF) says it has encircled the largest city in the Gaza Strip. The site is the "focal point of the terrorist organization Hamas," military spokesman Daniel Hagari told media representatives on Thursday evening (2 November). Israel has been calling on civilians to flee to the southern part of the cordoned-off coastal strip for weeks. During its advance on Gaza City, the IDF reported that Hamas had trapped Israeli troops in the Al-Tawam region of northern Palestinian territory and killed several soldiers from tunnels.
General Iddo Mizrahi reported that his troops had already encountered booby traps and mines. "Hamas has learned and prepared well," he told Reuters. In an interview with France24, retired French general and military theorist Vincent Desportes commented on the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip and warned of further Hamas traps.
Israel Expands Offensive Against Hamas in Gaza Strip
"Israel knows that they are stepping into a trap – a trap that Hamas has been preparing for years. So Israel has to be extremely careful with this invasion." That is why Israel is proceeding gradually and not with a large-scale offensive. According to Desportes, Hamas relies on precisely such attacks behind the lines of Israeli troops. Their goal, he said, is not to kill a few soldiers, but to provoke the bloodiest battle possible, forcing the Israelis to stop their offensive due to high risks. Even if the offensive has even more devastating consequences for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, the international community could turn against Israel and demand a ceasefire.
Hamas itself claims that the number of Israeli soldiers killed is significantly higher than stated by the IDF. The army says 18 soldiers have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the ground offensive.
U.S. warns Israel of two-front frieg
After Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu declared a state of war. President Herzog said Israel must "wipe out Hamas' military infrastructure" – and ultimately the terror group itself. After numerous airstrikes - with many civilian casualties among the Palestinian population - and weeks of preparation, Israeli troops are now moving closer to Gaza City. However, Hamas' tunnel system poses a challenge to the Israeli army.
But it is not only in the Gaza Strip that the Israeli army is deployed. In the north of the country, there have been clashes with Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon since the beginning of the war in Israel. The IDF repeatedly reports attacks with anti-tank missiles from Lebanon, to which Israel's army responds with artillery fire. US President Joe Biden had already warned Israel weeks ago of a two-front war with Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north.
This article was created with the help of machine support and has been carefully reviewed by editor Bedrettin Bölükbasi before publication.