Friday Gaza updates

Well, we have commented on this in the past: 60-80,000 Palestinian residents of Gaza have left the city due to the ongoing conflict. You would think that number might be higher, right?

A senior defense source on Wednesday said that Hamas is working hard to block Palestinian civilians from evacuating from Gaza City despite the military’s two-week effort to encourage them to leave as the clock ticks down to an expected large-scale invasion.

According to the defense source, Hamas wants to keep as many civilians as possible in Gaza City, both to serve directly as human shields from IDF attacks and also to place more diplomatic pressure on Israel to end the war in the event that Palestinian civilians are caught up in the crossfire.

In the senior defense official’s view, Hamas views the deaths of its own population as a strategic asset to play against Israel’s reputation globally.

You know you have a popular government when you have to shoot people to remain under it, right?

Hamas tactics to prevent Palestinians from leaving Gaza City have varied from scaring them – by (falsely) claiming that conditions in southern Gaza are worse in terms of insufficient tents, food, and medical care – to physically shooting or beating those who do try to flee. 

 

When questioned about what had happened in terms of protests against Hamas several months ago, the source acknowledged that those had eventually died down. The senior defense official did add that there are still parts of Gaza over which Hamas has weaker control due to resistance by tribal clans or gangs, but that these are limited problems for Hamas and have not taken a broader toll on its control over Gaza.  Jerusalem Post

Given who is doing the reporting, I would downplay some of the stats in the article, just as I do Al-Jazeera’s casualty counts. Either way, sucks to live in Gaza.

Same source – Israel says the majority of casualties being killed now are attributable to drones. Okay, they are not autonomous, just unmanned, so it’s not like Skynet is taking over, but this has to be a first on battlefields when the machines are killing more than the soldiers.

The IDF said that the “Atalef” (bat) suicide drone is now widely available within the ground forces, without any need to ask for special help from the air force, in order to kill Hamas terrorists.

Moreover, the IDF stated that, at the platoon level, which involves a couple of dozen soldiers, each platoon now has its own surveillance and intelligence collection drones.

Sounds about right – who needs pilots if you are flying small drones (the Atalef is pictured above.) Geez, any more most teens seem to be able to fly a drone better than many skills.

Some of the drones are specifically tasked to enter new structures to spy out for Hamas boobytraps or tunnels.

Other drones are used to look over a nearby hill to ensure there is no ambush from Hamas before the soldiers advance.

I’m thinking this helps the battlefield leaders. Why risk your guy going into some rabbit warren of tunnels, who hasn’t wanted to see beyond that pile of crap over there “just in case.” As always, it’s a mixed blessing – enables your enemies to surgically strike YOU but might save some of your men.

There are now 14 IDF schools training 20,000 soldiers for handling these drones. Jerusalem Post II

Category: Israel