More than 80 days have passed since the outbreak of the war, and its end is still not imminent. It is not the IDF's weakness that makes the war the longest of Israel's wars since <>, on the contrary – IDF fighters and commanders show admirable determination and efficiency. Nonetheless, what makes the war prolong is the idea of war in its new form, as developed and adopted by Hamas and Hezbollah, under Iranian guidance.
Deep underground - this is what the terror tunnel in Jabaliya looks like, where the bodies of abductees were found \\ IDF Spokesperson
Israel's dependence on a short war and a quick victory, as formulated in Ben-Gurion's security doctrine, was deeply understood in the concept of war that developed in Hezbollah and Hamas, under Iranian guidance. Accordingly, these terrorist organizations directed their efforts at denying the IDF's ability to end a war in a short time. For this purpose, a system of threats was built that surrounds Israel from all sides – all the way to the Red Sea. This is done in an attempt to throw the State of Israel into an ongoing war as a chronic condition that will erode it until its collapse.
This idea of war is based on the Iranian experience of the Iraq-Iran War, which broke out in September 1980 in a surprise Iraqi attack to take over the oil fields in Khuzestan Province. The Iraqi plan was to finish it in about two weeks. Iranian army commanders, recognizing at the start of the war the inferiority of their army, offered to retreat to the mountains. Iranian President Khomeini refused any withdrawal and demanded a stubborn defense. The Iranian army, although it did not win, succeeded in the sacrifice fighting led by the IRGC to deny the Iraqi army the ability to bring the war to an end at the desired time. The prolongation of the war to eight years was perceived by the Iranian leadership as an achievement and became a source of inspiration for Hamas and Hezbollah's war concept.
Weapons in the homes of Hamas operatives in Jabaliya, photo: IDF Spokesperson
Thus, Hamas and Hezbollah's war doctrine was formulated, based on two systemic components: an array of rockets deployed in the full depth of the area in large quantities and enabling continued firing at the Israeli home front for a long time, even after the IDF infiltrates large parts of enemy territory; And the second component is based on dense defense full of obstacles and IEDs, above and below ground, in the heart of the built-up space in cities and villages. Under these conditions, transferring the IDF's war quickly to enemy territory became a complex task, more difficult than anything the IDF knew in the wars of movement in the desert, such as in the Six-Day War.
Reliance on local fighters
In the method of organizing Hamas and Hezbollah for war, their forces are built at the starting point on the local people. The Sajaiya Battalion in Gaza, for example, is based on the Sajaiya Bnei. So the Khan Yunis Brigade and everything else.
Using a similar logic, Hezbollah's forces deployed at the front of the border are also organized for defense. In the village of Ayita ash Shaab, for example, near the border opposite Adamit Shomria, several hundred Hezbollah operatives from the village are deployed. In this respect, it is advisable to examine the feasibility of expecting their removal north of the Litani by virtue of Security Council Resolution 1701.
Understanding the ongoing war as stemming at the pace of its development from a new method of war, under Iranian guidance and inspiration, begins the story that the Israeli leadership and society must tell themselves about the long road to victory, as a complex challenge that is becoming an existential necessity at this time.
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