Some experts and commentators view the achievements of the war in Gaza with skepticism. While they acknowledge the IDF's achievements in fighting deep inside Gaza with an unprecedented combination of land, air and naval forces, they point out with concern that Hamas and its leaders and fighters have not yet been broken.
Documentation: Paratroopers raid the homes of senior Hamas figures in Gaza's prestigious neighborhood // Photo: IDF Spokesperson
And yet, despite the uncertainty regarding the continuation of the war and the full range of its consequences and implications for the future, from the moment the IDF switched three weeks ago to a ground offensive deep inside Gaza City, a Rubicon of decades of hesitation and anxiety has been crossed.
For example, Bashar al-Assad described Israel's paralysis in a 2009 interview: "The State of Israel becomes militarily stronger as time passes... But it has less ability to carry out its military and political goals. It goes from failure to failure... Today there is no longer a campaign by Israel on other lands, it is a strategic principle. Today, Israel's campaign is 'inside.' So the map has changed, Israel doesn't know how to deal with this map" (interview with Al-Asfir, March 25, 2009).
Iranian President Raisi and Syrian President Assad. Photo: AP
The Israeli leadership's anxiety in recent decades about the use of ground forces in enemy territory reflects a longstanding crisis in Israel's security concept. It stems first and foremost from the uncertainty of entering war, which by its nature involves stepping into the unknown.
At the crossroads in which the decision to employ ground forces deep in enemy territory stands, the political echelon has been reluctant for years, since the days of Operation Accountability in Lebanon '93, to take a step that could become complicated until it loses control in bringing the war to a desired end.
This was also the case in Operation Cast Lead at the end of 2008. In the dispute between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who pushed for a broad decisive move against Hamas, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who wanted to end the operation before matters get complicated in the maze of mud in Gaza, the defense minister and the chief of staff prevailed.
IDF forces activity in Rimal, Gaza's prestigious neighborhood, photo: IDF Spokesperson
In this respect, in the current war, the very daring of the IDF leadership and the war cabinet to send the forces to attack in the heart of the dense, booby-trapped and fortified urban fabric above and below ground – and with unprecedented intensity, not even in the fighting against ISIS in Mosul – is in itself an achievement and a resounding message of strategic significance.
And just as in the process of pilgrimage, in which the journey itself is no less important than the destination, so in this war, too, the bold and determined path that IDF forces strive to achieve the goals of the war has significance that stands in itself.
Above all, the choice to focus the attack on the heart of the assets of the Hamas regime in Gaza has significance stemming from the central role of the city in such a way that it constitutes a kind of cultural-religious womb for all dimensions of the organization's existence.
Gaza City itself is the focal point of the front and the epicenter of the war. From this perspective, the IDF's ability to successfully penetrate the city's core and operate with an effective operational focus on the city's core assets represents an unprecedented systemic achievement. Even if there is still a long way to go to achieve the goals of the war, the achievement so far seems at this stage to open the horizon for achieving them.
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