JERUSALEM: The Israeli army’s death toll in Gaza is already almost twice as high as during a ground offensive in 2014, a reflection of how far it has pushed into the enclave and of Hamas’ effective use of guerrilla tactics and an expanded arsenal.

Israeli military experts, an Israeli commander and a Hamas source described how the Palestinian group has used a big weapons stockpile, its knowledge of the terrain and a vast tunnel network to turn Gaza’s streets into a deadly maze.

At their disposal they have arms ranging from drones rigged with grenades to anti-tank weapons with powerful twin charges.

Since Israel’s ground attack began in late October, about 110 Israeli soldiers have been killed as tanks and infantry thrust into the cities and refugee camps, based on official Israeli figures. About a quarter were tank crew.

That compares with 66 in the 2014 conflict, when Israel launched a more limited three-week ground incursion but the goal then was not to eliminate Hamas.

“There is no comparing the scope of this war to 2014, when our forces mostly operated no deeper than a kilometre inside Gaza,” said Yaacov Amidror, a retired Israeli major general and former national security adviser who is now at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA).

He said the army “has yet to find a good solution for the tunnels,” a network hugely expanded in the past decade.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would wage war “until absolute victory”. Israeli officials have said it could take months before being complete.

“It has been a challenge from day one,” Ophir Falk, foreign policy adviser to Netanyahu, said, adding the offensive had come with a “huge price” in Israeli soldiers.

“We know that we’re going to probably have to pay an additional price to complete the mission.”

Heavy fighting

Hamas has posted videos on its Telegram channel this month showing fighters with bodycams weaving through buildings to launch shoulder-held rockets at armoured vehicles. One of them, posted on Dec 7, was from Shejaiya, east of Gaza City, an area where both sides reported heavy fighting.

In another post on Dec 5, a camera emerges from a tunnel, like a periscope, to scan an Israeli camp where soldiers rested. The post said it was later hit by an underground blast.

A Hamas source, who spoke to this news agency from inside Gaza, said fighters moved as close as possible to launch ambushes “taking advantage of the land we know like no others do”, often moving around or emerging from tunnels.

“There is a huge discrepancy between our power and their power, we don’t fool ourselves,” he said.

Hamas has not said how many of its fighters have been killed. Israel’s military has said it has killed at least 7,000. The group has previously dismissed the Israeli figure, saying it includes civilians.An Israeli commander, who fought in 2014, said the expanded scope of this operation meant more troops were on the ground, giving Hamas the “defender’s advantages”, so higher troop casualties were to be expected. He asked not to be named because he is an active reservist in this war.

Israel’s military does not release numbers of troops involved or other operational details.

Israel’s Channel 12 television showed one army reservist unit, wary of booby-trapped doors, smashing through the wall of a building to enter a room to discover a munitions cache.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2023