Hamas uses Gaza's rubble as a tactical advantage against the IDF
Recent terrorist attacks in Gaza against IDF forces have revealed that Hamas and other groups in Gaza are exploiting the landscape to carry out attacks. What this means is that Hamas may view Israel's continued destruction of urban areas as a possible opportunity to exploit. Throughout the war, many Gazan neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble. In some cases whole towns have been razed.
The policy of razing areas has been articulated in the media and among voices in politics in Israel. Most buildings in Gaza are presented as acceptable targets because terrorists could use them.
It is also believed that many buildings conceal tunnels or tunnel shafts and entrances. The theory is that if you destroy the building, the enemy can't use it. However, Hamas appears to be shifting tactics to take advantage of the ruins. In Khan Yunis, Beit Hanun, and other places this appears to be the tactic.
Its terrorists can hide in the ruins of buildings and move from one place to another. The group apparently believes that the IDF views ruined areas as secure. As such, it thinks that it can move more freely in these areas.
It knows that the IDF has entered and claimed to have cleared many urban areas, such as Jabaliya in Gaza. It always returns to these areas afterward.
Hamas has another reason for using the rubble. The terror organization controls the central camps and Gaza City and it knows that the IDF is reluctant to enter those areas. That is apparently where the terror group is holding the 50 hostages. At the very least, Hamas knows that Israel is afraid that could be the case.
Thus, the group feels relatively secure in 30% of Gaza. Hamas terrorists can then infiltrate the other 60-70% percent and wait for targets of opportunity to appear.
A recent report indicated that this is what Hamas and other groups are doing. They send cells back into the rubble and wait. They wait for an IDF armored vehicle to appear; or to identify a road that the IDF is using. The deadly attacks in Beit Hanun and Khan Yunis in the first weeks of July illustrate the new Hamas tactic.
This must lead to a question about whether the policy of destroying buildings in Gaza is effective. It is possible that this policy has diminishing returns. It's not clear what percentage of Gaza has been reduced to ruins, but it appears that a large part of the areas where the IDF operates, comprising 60-70% percent of Gaza, has been badly damaged.
Areas near the Israeli border are earmarked for a future buffer zone. Beit Hanun is apparently one of those areas. However, it appears that dozens of terrorists are still hiding there. The IDF has gone in now to clear them out. Will this work this time? Will the same clearing work this time in Jabaliya, Sheijaya, and Zeitoun in northern Gaza?
Hamas has been able to tie down several IDF divisions for 645 days of war. Now, it appears to be adapting to the new situation.
The question is whether the IDF is also adapting.
The incidents in Khan Yunis and Beit Hanun illustrate that Hamas tactics should be examined and studied. The rubble across most of Gaza could become a threat just as deadly as terrorists hiding in civilian homes and schools.
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