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Nothing will be left: Israel prepares for Gaza City battle
Nothing will be left: Israel prepares for Gaza City battle

Arab News

time6 days ago

  • Politics
  • Arab News

Nothing will be left: Israel prepares for Gaza City battle

JERUSALEM: In a dense urban landscape, with likely thousands of Hamas fighters lying in wait, taking Gaza City will be a difficult and costly slog for the Israeli army, security experts say. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out his vision of victory in Gaza following 22 months of war --- with the military ordered to attack the last remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and the central camps further south. With a pre-war population of some 760,000, according to official figures, Gaza City was the biggest of any municipal area in the Palestinian territories. But following the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel in 2023 that sparked the war, its population has only swelled, with thousands of displaced people fleeing intensive military operations to the north. Gaza City itself has come under intense aerial bombardment, and its remaining apartment buildings now rub shoulders with tents and other makeshift shelters. Amir Avivi, a former Israeli general and head of the Israeli Defense and Security Forum think tank, described the city as the 'heart of Hamas's rule in Gaza.' 'Gaza City has always been the center of government and also has the strongest brigade of Hamas,' he said. The first challenge for Israeli troops relates to Netanyahu's call for the evacuation of civilians — how such a feat will be carried out remains unclear. Unlike the rest of the Strip, where most of the population has been displaced at least once, around 300,000 residents of Gaza City have not moved since the outbreak of the conflict, according to Avivi. Israel has already tried to push civilians further south to so-called humanitarian zones established by the military, but there is likely little space to accommodate more arrivals. 'You cannot put another one million people over there. It will be a horrible humanitarian crisis,' said Michael Milshtein, an Israeli former military intelligence officer. According to Avivi, humanitarian aid would be mainly distributed south of Gaza City in order to encourage residents to move toward future distribution sites managed by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Up from just four currently, the GHF plans to operate 16 sites. However, Gaza's civil defense agency says Israeli troops are firing at and killing civilians daily around the sites. Human Rights Watch has called them a 'death trap,' while the UN and other groups have lashed out at what they call a militarization of aid. According to Michael Milshtein, who heads the Palestinian Studies Program at Tel Aviv University, Hamas's military wing could have as many as 10,000 to 15,000 fighters in Gaza City, many of them freshly recruited. 'It's very easy to convince a 17, 18, 19-year-old Palestinian to be a part of Al-Qassam Brigades,' Milshtein told AFP, referring to Hamas's armed wing as he cited a lack of opportunities for much Gaza's population. 'While (Israel's army) prepares itself, Hamas also prepares itself for the coming warfare, if it takes place,' he added, predicting that the battle could end up being 'very similar to Stalingrad.' He was referring to the battle for the city now known as Volgograd, one of the longest and bloodiest in World War II. The Israeli army will encounter obstacles including a vast network of tunnels where Israeli hostages are likely being held, along with weapons depots, hiding places and combat posts. Other obstacles could include improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and the use of civilians as human shields in a dense urban maze of narrow alleys and tall buildings, according to press reports. 'It's almost impossible to go in there without creating both hostage casualties and a large humanitarian disaster,' said Mairav Zonszein of the International Crisis Group. The material destruction, she added, will be enormous. 'They will simply destroy everything, and then nothing will be left,' she said. Despite rumored disagreements over the plan by the chief of the army Eyal Zamir, the general said his forces 'will be able to conquer Gaza City, just as it did in Khan Yunis and Rafah in the south,' according to a statement on Monday. 'Our forces have operated there in the past, and we will know how to do it again.'

‘Nothing will be left': Israel prepares for Gaza takeover
‘Nothing will be left': Israel prepares for Gaza takeover

Al Arabiya

time6 days ago

  • Politics
  • Al Arabiya

‘Nothing will be left': Israel prepares for Gaza takeover

In a dense urban landscape, with likely thousands of Hamas fighters lying in wait, taking Gaza City will be a difficult and costly slog for the Israeli army, security experts say. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out his vision of victory in Gaza following 22 months of war --- with the military ordered to attack the last remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and the central camps further south. With a pre-war population of some 760,000, according to official figures, Gaza City was the biggest of any municipal area in the Palestinian territories. But following the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel in 2023 that sparked the war, its population has only swelled, with thousands of displaced people fleeing intensive military operations to the north. Gaza City itself has come under intense aerial bombardment, and its remaining apartment buildings now rub shoulders with tents and other makeshift shelters. 'Death trap' Amir Avivi, a former Israeli general and head of the Israeli Defense and Security Forum think tank, described the city as the 'heart of Hamas's rule in Gaza.' 'Gaza City has always been the center of government and also has the strongest brigade of Hamas,' he said. The first challenge for Israeli troops relates to Netanyahu's call for the evacuation of civilians -- how such a feat will be carried out remains unclear. Unlike the rest of the Strip, where most of the population has been displaced at least once, around 300,000 residents of Gaza City have not moved since the outbreak of the conflict, according to Avivi. Israel has already tried to push civilians further south to so-called humanitarian zones established by the military, but there is likely little space to accommodate more arrivals. 'You cannot put another one million people over there. It will be a horrible humanitarian crisis,' said Michael Milshtein, an Israeli former military intelligence officer. According to Avivi, humanitarian aid would be mainly distributed south of Gaza City in order to encourage residents to move toward future distribution sites managed by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Up from just four currently, the GHF plans to operate 16 sites. However, Gaza's civil defense agency says Israeli troops are firing at and killing civilians daily around the sites. Human Rights Watch has called them a 'death trap', while the UN and other groups have lashed out at what they call a militarization of aid. 'Stalingrad' According to Michael Milshtein, who heads the Palestinian Studies Program at Tel Aviv University, Hamas's military wing could have as many as 10,000 to 15,000 fighters in Gaza City, many of them freshly recruited. 'It's very easy to convince a 17, 18, 19-year-old Palestinian to be a part of Al-Qassam Brigades,' Milshtein told AFP, referring to Hamas's armed wing as he cited a lack of opportunities for much Gaza's population. 'While (Israel's army) prepares itself, Hamas also prepares itself for the coming warfare, if it takes place,' he added, predicting that the battle could end up being 'very similar to Stalingrad.' He was referring to the battle for the city now known as Volgograd, one of the longest and bloodiest in World War II. The Israeli army will encounter obstacles including a vast network of tunnels where Israeli hostages are likely being held, along with weapons depots, hiding places and combat posts. Other obstacles could include improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and the use of civilians as human shields in a dense urban maze of narrow alleys and tall buildings, according to press reports. 'It's almost impossible to go in there without creating both hostage casualties and a large humanitarian disaster,' said Mairav Zonszein of the International Crisis Group. The material destruction, she added, will be enormous. 'They will simply destroy everything, and then nothing will be left,' she said. Despite rumored disagreements over the plan by the chief of the army Eyal Zamir, the general said his forces 'will be able to conquer Gaza City, just as it did in Khan Younis and Rafah in the south,' according to a statement on Monday. 'Our forces have operated there in the past, and we will know how to do it again.'

Residents weigh their chances as Russian troops approach Ukrainian city
Residents weigh their chances as Russian troops approach Ukrainian city

Reuters

time13-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Reuters

Residents weigh their chances as Russian troops approach Ukrainian city

SUMY, Ukraine, June 13 (Reuters) - Vladyslav Solomko, a 29-year-old French language tutor, is having trouble convincing his parents it would be better not to be in their home in Sumy if rapidly-advancing Russian forces capture the northeastern Ukrainian city. "I keep asking them to leave," Solomko said on Friday, standing in front of a concrete air raid shelter that had been installed in the street to protect people from Russian drone and missile attacks that have grown in intensity. For now, he said, his parents are not budging. But he added: "If the situation gets worse, there is no discussion: we will have to leave." Sumy, a city of around 250,000 people, is located just 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the border with Russia. It was briefly encircled by Russian forces at the start of 2022 when they launched their full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces soon pulled out and since then, despite its proximity to the border, Sumy has been relatively quiet, as the focus of the Russian fighting has been further east and south in areas Moscow claims as its own without having full control. However, that changed earlier this year when Russian forces pushed across the Ukraine-Russian border. Since the start of June, their advance has accelerated. Displaced people from outlying villages have been given refuge in public buildings. The Russian advance also means the city is now within range of their artillery. On June 3, four people were killed and nearly 30 were injured when a Russian short-range battlefield rocket landed in the centre of Sumy. Olha Kalchenko, a 29-year-old on maternity leave from her job as an accountant, said the question of whether to stay or leave was now a major topic of debate among her social circle. "It is a bit scary," she said as she pushed her seven-month-old daughter, Oleksandra, in a stroller. "Yes, there are thoughts about leaving but there is nowhere to go, so we stay here." she said. "As long as they (Russian troops) are still a bit further away, it is still ok to live here. But if they get closer we will start thinking and planning to leave, that's for sure. At least me and the baby." But another resident, Sergiy Petrakov, 63, said he would stay put in Sumy, even if Russian forces reached the city limits. He said he trusted Ukraine's armed forces to push back the Russian advance, and would be willing to help build barricades and man checkpoints, adding: "We shall overcome, I think."

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