Hamas has prepared for a long, drawn-out war in the Gaza Strip and believes it can hold up Israel’s advance long enough to force its arch-enemy to agree to a ceasefire, two sources close to the organization’s leadership said. The Palestinian militant group, which rules Gaza, has stockpiled weapons, missiles, food and medical supplies. It is confident its thousands of fighters can survive for months in a city of tunnels carved deep beneath the enclave and frustrate Israeli forces with urban guerrilla tactics. The sources declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation.
The latest conflict in the Gaza Strip has triggered the worst loss of life in an Israeli-Palestinian war since Israel’s 2008 withdrawal from the territory. More than 7,000 people have been killed in the Gaza fighting, including nearly a third of civilians, according to the Health Ministry. The death toll also includes dozens of Israeli soldiers and security forces.
Both sides have made clear their objectives in the conflict, though Israeli leaders have been hesitant to describe how they plan to accomplish them. “It’s in their interest to keep the military operation vague,” Natan Sachs, director of the Middle East program at the Brookings Institution, told Vox. “There are multiple ways to achieve those objectives, and they want to make it difficult for the world community to pressure them to negotiate.”
Hamas, which launched its rocket attack on a southern Israeli kibbutz on Oct. 7, has promised to raze the Jewish state to the ground in response. Experts warn that if Israel follows through on its present course, it will not only destroy Gaza and its 2.3 million residents but risk triggering a regional conflagration that could threaten its security.
The Israeli government has stepped up its campaign with a week-long bombing campaign and an overnight raid on Sunday that appeared to signal a forthcoming ground assault. The raids have targeted Hamas strongholds in northern Gaza and the enclave’s densely populated eastern outskirts.
It has also imposed a virtual siege on Gaza, restricting the flow of goods into and out of the enclave in what it says is a bid to prevent Hamas from arming itself. The policy has drawn accusations of collective punishment from the Palestinians and many international rights groups.
The military says it has targeted more than 400 sites in the enclave where rockets were fired from and are preparing for an extensive ground operation there. As part of that, concrete barriers are being erected to block tunnels in the enclave’s west and north, which are the main routes into the kibbutz attacks. It also disrupts GPS signals to deter attackers from using apps to pinpoint targets.
