General (retired) Israel Ziv, who years ago headed the brigade in charge of security in the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip and was head of Operatives in the General Staff of the Israeli armyhas no doubts.
To achieve Israel’s stated goal of destroying the armed infrastructure of Hamas in the Strip It will be inevitable to carry out a ground operation. This, he says, is just a matter of time.
Israel Ziv ended his decades-long service in the Israel Defense Forces years ago, but on Saturday, October 7, understanding part of what was happening with the Hamas terrorist attack, he put on his uniform, took his gun and traveled to the south of the country to fight. This Friday he gave an interview to EL TIEMPO.
You went to the south, although you have long since finished your military service also in the reserves, and traveled to confront Hamas. How long did it take you to grasp the dimension of what was happening?
Everything had started at 6:30 am I think that around 11 in the morning and 12 noon I understood that we were in the middle of an extremely complex situation, that we did not have control and that the attack was of an unthinkable magnitude.
Would you say it was the most dramatic event experienced by Israel since its founding 75 years ago?
Without a doubt it was the worst attack since the founding of the State, it is very clear. In ’67, before the Six Day War, we had a feeling of existential threat because regular armies were attacking us. But, it’s not that I thought they were going to conquer Tel Aviv. Here we had a situation in which terrorists conquered an entire region in the south of the country for several hours. It was inconceivable, a situation that is in fact worse in many ways than the one we experienced in the Yom Kippur war in 1973. The thing is that, among other things, one thinks about what it means, what it means in terms of who we are, the fact that a terrorist organization that does not have the size of a country’s regular army managed to do that to us.
Israel Ziv, former Israeli general.
I think this is a very important aspect that needs to be clarified. It is often said that Israel is the strongest army in the region and that its Intelligence service is of excellence. Is that a myth? It’s a lie? Or was there a colossal, but punctual, failure?
It’s not a lie at all. There is no doubt that the bear fell asleep, but it is not that there is no bear. I am sure that those who believe that all that was a lie are wrong. Let us not forget that no more than 200 soldiers who managed to reach the field until 9 or 10 in the morning managed to stop the attack of at least 1,500 terrorists. They did not immediately regain full control of the area, but they did manage to stop the advance of the attack.
In the days following the beginning of the Israeli military counteroffensive, the feeling is that entry by land would be imminent. Obviously, it’s taking a while. But Defense Minister Yoav Gallant assured that it is only a matter of time and that the time that is passing is for the benefit of Israel.
It’s true. I agree with him. He is for our benefit for several reasons. During this time we took advantage of the fire and the Intelligence material that we collected and managed to destroy numerous targets of the terrorists’ infrastructure. The more we advance in that now, the better we will be in the ground maneuver later. It is very significant. Also, since we are renewing plans, we have more time to review them. And it gives us some time to exhaust resources on the issue of the kidnapped before entering. This topic is very important. We have to return them home.
But Hamas surely also takes advantage of the time to “receive” Israel with surprises when it enters by land.
It seems to me that now Hamas cannot prepare anything more than what it already prepared before because they are hiding in their bunkers. In that sense, we have advantages day and night since we neutralize anyone who comes out of the tunnels. But, of course, we cannot wait and delay too long.
You mentioned the issue of the kidnapped people…and if Hamas understands that in order to try to free them, Israel is delaying their entry by land, will it play with this issue in its favor?
Hamas wants the kidnapped people not to free them but as an insurance policy. When he understands that they are not his insurance policy, his desire to free them to survive will be much greater. So you have to start maneuvering.
Dozens of buildings have been destroyed since the bombings began in the Gaza Strip.
Would you say that the two central objectives of the war are to free the hostages and to dismantle Hamas?
It’s true. I don’t like the definition of bringing down Hamas that much. I prefer to talk about the destruction of Hamas’s armed infrastructure. They must be destroyed, even if it takes years. That they can’t get up again.
Also to Hamas as a system of government in Gaza?
Exact.
Israeli soldiers at Kibbutz Beeri, near the border with the Gaza Strip.
And to achieve this it is unavoidable to enter by land?
Without a doubt.
Is the entry by land also important because both Hezbollah, in Lebanon, and Iran are watching from the north?
From no point of view, including the one you mention, can this war be ended without having ended Hamas.
The Defense Minister called it “a war for our house.” Is that so?
Of course. First of all, people will not live there again if they continue to face Hamas. That will not happen. And it is also a message to the north… what are they going to feel there if they can’t return to the south?
Do you consider that Hezbollah will broadly join the war or will everything remain in the specific incidents, although there have been quite a few, of shooting towards Israel but not massive ones?
The Arab world is governed by the division between Shiites and Sunnis. Shiites will not sacrifice themselves for Sunni. That is not going to happen. They have no problem sacrificing Hamas. It is not something that serves your interest.
But, Hezbollah is Iran’s arm in Lebanon.
Yes, but many are Lebanese. They understand that if they join in supporting Hamas, Beirut will be destroyed.
Isn’t that analyzing the situation according to Western logic, and not Islamic radicals?
For now, Hezbollah has not fully joined the war, so this logic seems to be understood by them for the moment.
JANA BERIS
TIME
JERUSALEM
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