Video: Documentation of the ground, naval and airstrikes in the Gaza Strip/IDF Spokesperson
Senior reserve officers from the Southern Command decided to break their silence in light of the criticism of the claim that they had transferred forces from the Southern Command to Judea and Samaria.
At the beginning of their remarks, they clarified that the commander of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, had inherited the scope of the forces in the Gaza Division from the command's previous generals, Herzi Halevi and Eliezer Toledano, who gradually accepted the reduction in the order of battle from the heads of the IDF General Staff's Operations Directorate.
Southern Command Commander Finkelman assessing the situation in the Gaza Strip/IDF Spokesperson
According to the officers, the General Staff's Operations Division, starting in 2018, decided to reduce the scope of combat forces in armor, infantry, etc., for several reasons:
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- High costs of reserve battalions for operational employment - it is not possible to recruit one battalion but 12 battalions for an entire year and accordingly train them, take care of proper infantry units and recruit them in addition to a month of reserve duty, not including battalion headquarters that enlists twice the number of reserve days to command the process.
- Construction of the smart fence along 64 kilometers - the project is known as an 'hourglass' that also includes advanced operations rooms, technologies and sensors for intelligence gathering.
- Progress to the point of completion of the underground wall against tunnels combined with technologies and a special warning room.
- Assessments of the situation are based on the concept that Hamas is deterred and is turning to a long-term arrangement, combined with the transfer of Qatari money, expensive projects that have led to the creation of jobs in the Gaza Strip and the entry of workers from Gaza into Israel, including a political discourse on extensive solutions for exports and imports under Israeli control.
Is Hamas deterred? The Weapons of the Terrorists Seized in Israeli Territory / Avi Rokach
"In practice? There remains one tank battalion securing the entire Gaza Strip. In the case of that Shabbat, it was the 77th Battalion, deployed from Fatah in the northern Gaza Strip to Kerem Shalom in the south, whose locations vary according to operational and intelligence needs," explained a senior reserve officer.
"And not only was it one battalion in normal times defending the border, almost half of its soldiers went on holiday break. In the spirit of the times, holidays and the period of silence. Preliminary assessments of the situation do not expect a tangible and immediate threat, but under no circumstances will they be reinforced elsewhere. There was always an assessment that a warning would come from Military Intelligence and the Shin Bet, and then they would prepare accordingly," he added.
According to one of the reserve officers, the incoming commander of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, acted from the moment he took office to raise the level of competence and responsibility of the forces under his regular and reserve command, because he knew that at the moment of truth, he would need available and capable forces quickly.
Gaza terrorists on IDF tank on Black Saturday/Flash 90, Abed Rahim Khatib
According to them, upon taking office, he tightened the connection between the Red Brigade and the Gaza Division through a joint exercise weeks before the war began: "His attention in connecting the Southern Brigade to the Red Division forces paid off at the moment of truth. Just as in the exercise, the tanks and the 80th Infantry Brigade jumped to defend the communities in the Southern Brigade, killing dozens of terrorists. The move prevented a bigger disaster."
The officers said that raising the competence of the 252nd Division was the focus of General Finkelman's attention from the moment he took office. According to them, "The insistence on a credible and accurate operational plan for the 252nd Division for what could erupt from Gaza put the entire division on alert. No one took them as seriously as Gen. Finkelman."
The fence breached on Saturday 7th October/Flash 90, Abed Rahim Khatib
The officers added: "In practice, what happened is that the wall against tunnels has proven itself. They didn't penetrate tunnels. Set? Her end was to be breached. What did they think was impenetrable? This is a fence for security, not for war. It prevents intrusions in routine and war is supposed to be only a hindrance. So instead of bringing loads of tens of kilograms, they would bring hundreds of kilograms of explosives and detonate it.
"The scale of the attacking terrorists left no chance for the defensive forces in the first stage. I don't go into the alerts that held the air, sea and land. Obviously, an entirely new order and end-to-end change will be required. But it is important to give expression to what actually happened. The fighters of the 77th Battalion fought heroically against terrorists, fired machine guns and shells, ran over dozens of terrorists only in the Kissufim sector when the ammunition ran out, as far as I am concerned, our fighters are heroes. What actually happened at the border was contrary to everything they were explained and trained."
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- Gaza War
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