IIsrael’s military has postponed its planned invasion of the Gaza Strip by a few days due to adverse weather conditions, according to a US media report. The ground offensive was actually supposed to begin this weekend, but was postponed because of cloudy skies and the resulting difficulty in visibility for pilots and drones, the New York Times reported, citing three unnamed senior Israeli officers. The aim is to wipe out the political and military leadership of the Islamist organization Hamas, which carried out massacres in Israel a week ago that left hundreds dead.
The military operation carries the risk of Israel becoming embroiled in months of bloody house-to-house fighting, the report says. Tens of thousands of Hamas fighters are believed to be holed up in bunkers and hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnel systems beneath Gaza City and surrounding parts of the northern Gaza Strip.
Israel’s army assumes that Hamas will try to impede its progress by blowing up tunnels as ground forces advance above them. Hamas is also planning to get behind Israeli lines through secret tunnel exits and attack from behind. Another strategic dilemma is that the terrorists can hide themselves particularly effectively underground with hostages.
With tanks, fighter planes and helicopters
In addition to infantry units, Israel’s response force will also include tanks and engineers, the officers added, according to the newspaper. The ground troops would receive cover from fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, drones and artillery from both land and sea, it said. Israeli officials warn that Hamas could kill Israeli hostages and use civilians as human shields. They also littered the area with booby traps, the New York Times reported.
Palestinian terrorists, acting on behalf of Hamas, carried out a massacre of Israeli civilians in border towns and at a music festival last weekend. More than 1,300 people were killed. Israel has since responded with heavy air strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip, where at least 2,228 people were killed and 8,744 others injured, according to Palestinian figures on Saturday.
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