According to the strategy of attrition, Hamas is applying the Russian method inside the Gaza Strip.
In this context, two specialists spoke to Sky News Arabia, one of them Russian, about the power of the attrition factor in the Ukraine and Gaza wars, and the ability of the military exhaustion factor to accelerate the rates of exhaustion of Western weapons and equipment.
Politics of exhaustion and long breathing
Ayman Al-Raqab, professor of political science at Al-Quds University, believes that the Hamas movement worked before the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation to mobilize its energies in producing anti-armor weapons, anti-tank weapons, vehicles, and troop carriers, “because it is known that the Israeli soldier only fights from behind fortifications or behind barriers.” “.
Al-Raqab said, in exclusive statements to Sky News Arabia, that Hamas worked to produce dramatic works and “songs” confirming that it was on the verge of a major operation against the Israeli army, including a series that clearly talked about a major attack targeting the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip.
Al-Raqab added that there are a number of factors that confirm the ability and viability of Hamas’ strategy to exhaust Israel’s military capabilities and Western, especially American, support:
- Hamas, its military wing, and other Palestinian factions in Gaza worked to establish a large tunnel network in Gaza, knowing the vast difference in military capabilities between the two sides.
- America resorted to supplying Israel with high-explosive artillery shells to help it track down Hamas members in the tunnels.
- The Palestinian factions adopt a strategy of “lightning strikes” as part of the War of Exhaustion, which is the most ferocious type of battle against regular armies and causes the disintegration of ammunition and the dispersion of the military effort.
- The Israeli army is unable to engage in battles that last for months and may last for years, especially since the tunnels extend for hundreds of kilometers and reach a depth of 80 meters. A prisoner released by Al-Qassam described them as a “spider’s web.”
- The Palestinian factions' stores of weapons, food, and subsistence materials underground and in tunnels are sufficient for months and even years.
- The continuous missile barrages on Israeli cities and the missiles and marches coming from the southern Red Sea have greatly depleted the Iron Dome, “David’s Sling” and air defense systems, and until this moment Hamas is still capable of launching missiles, and therefore its structure remains cohesive.
The Institute for War Studies (ISW) confirms that the Hamas movement has prepared “new and more advanced tactics” to confront the Israeli army since the end of the truce on December 1, which has strongly contributed to military attrition.
Western support…and Russian benefit
Hoffman Marchenko, an expert at the Russian National Center for Military Studies, believes that Russia is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the significant shift in Western attention and military support from Ukraine to Gaza, as it has been greatly exhausted until it was forced to request weapons, ammunition and drones from Iran and other countries close to its axis. However, with the outbreak of the Gaza War, the balance changed and Russia benefited on the ground from the transfer of most of the American and Western military support that Ukraine had to the Israeli army.
Hoffman Marchenko adds in exclusive statements to Sky News Arabia: “Since the outbreak of the battle in Gaza, the Ukrainian army has not achieved any tangible progress on the fronts. Rather, the Russian army is working to exhaust it, which has angered the US Secretary of Defense to the point that members of the Ukrainian army have begun to complain.” From the quality and quantity of ammunition his army receives.
The British newspaper The Times quoted a sergeant in the Ukrainian army as saying: “We had ten times more ammunition in the summer, and of better quality… But now they bring us shells from all over the world, of different qualities, and we receive only 15 pieces for three.” days”.
Marchenko reviewed points that illustrate the success of Russia's strategy in depleting Western support in Ukraine:
- Ukraine's loss of the counterattack, which cost tens of billions of dollars to prepare, shocked Westerners at a time when the inflation and energy crises in America are intensifying in Europe.
- The decline of America's promises and Joe Biden's inability to continue support, especially with the rejection of Republicans and their conviction that the Ukraine war has become pointless.
- The Ukrainian side's lack of a powerful air force corresponding to Russia's superior air force made Ukrainian ground and armored forces easy prey for Moscow's aviation and missiles.
- Russia imposed a state of near stalemate on the ground on the front lines after annexing about 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory to Moscow’s sovereignty, making the bleeding of Western power in Ukraine “faster.”
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