Tactical analysis of the raid
A single morning has been able to Changing the course of contemporary history, originating one of the largest Israeli military campaigns inside Palestinian territory the world has ever seen. But at the origin of it all is a short time horizon in which an irregular armed militia managed to breach one of the most closely monitored and defended border lines currently in existence.
It is about that strip of land surrounding the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip, dividing it from the numerous Arab-Israeli settlements located along the border, where there are countless bases, outposts and fortified positions of the IDF, i.e., the Israeli army. In the course of the following analysis, the entire attack will be traced, so that it will be possible to understand how and why Hamas was able to deceive the Israeli state's defense and intelligence system.
Chronology of the assault
6:30 a.m. Jerusalem time. Within twenty minutes, a shower of about 5,000 rockets of craft production is poured into the interior of the state of Israel from the territories of the Gaza Strip. The attack proves so intense that at certain times it saturates Israeli anti-aircraft defenses, resulting in many of these devices falling to the ground.
Meanwhile, armed militiamen by Hamas and other allied militias, Commit themselves to rapidly dismantle most of the surveillance systems and automatic firing stations placed along the border line, particularly employing commercial drones repurposed to carry explosive devices, as widely seen on the Middle East and Ukraine fronts.
Once the main defenses are blinded, numerous explosive charges are detonated in the border network, thus opening gaps from which at least 2,900 armed militiamen begin the actual invasion of Israel. In the meantime, a commando composed of at least a dozen men makes its way -- by means of motorized hang gliders equipped with two armed men each -- to the environs of Re'im, where a music festival is being held in which thousands of people from all over the world are participating.
The paratroopers, once they hit the ground, begin a killing spree primarily directed at the elimination and abduction of countless young people here, with a final death toll of about 250. Ground troops, on the other hand, once they cross the seven main gates, they quickly pounce - mainly employing motorcycles, cars and other vehicles - on the area's many IDF positions and border farming villages. Before long, the raid proves to be a success.
Dozens of Israeli soldiers are killed in firefights, often being Caught completely by surprise within their own bases and dormitories. The same happens along the coastal strip, where numerous Palestinian raiders manage to land in Israeli territory and inflict heavy damage in human and material losses. Numerous, of course, are also the prisoners captured and quickly transported inside the Strip.
Lending support to the men on the ground, of course, are the armed drones who, once the border defenses have been eliminated, go in search of targets inside the territory, repeatedly coming used to counter Merkava tanks and infantry. Unable to sustain such a well-planned and executed assault, there are countless Israeli soldiers who retreat and flee, leaving large quantities of vehicles and armaments in enemy hands.
The Israeli counterattack
La situation is so dynamic and difficult to manage that around noon, Hamas militiamen gained control of at least four border villages, which later increased to seven. In Sderot, the area's main population center, Hamas gains control of most city neighborhoods, managing to take over the local police center. What happens next is a long urban battle destined to involve the main captured villages.
The Israeli reaction, however, proves to be rather uneven and, often, ineffective, at least in the first few hours of fighting. From the numerous videos available online since the morning of the assault, it appears that the greatest damage was caused by the panic resulting from the surprise of the assault, which no one - from border garrison commanders to Mossad leadership - had previously been able to identify.
The ground attack, combined with that obtained by improvised aerial means, allowed a substantial number of men to penetrate deep inside a territory in a short time where, the main defenses broken, there were no obstacles capable of halting the advance along the course of the main communication routes. Only in certain cases, in fact, was the isolated action of military and police units able to interrupt the Palestinian war rampage.
Failure on the sea
Different, however, is the situation on the sea, where most of the amphibious and underwater assaults by Hamas and allies have proved futile because of the Israeli light ship interception system, which was easily able to sink most of the vehicles used in the assault and kill the entirety of the attackers.
Underwater defenses have also proved to be of great use., which made it possible to neutralize the operations of armed divers before they reached the beaches. In only one case, therefore, did the Palestinian amphibious blitz prove successful, with the capture of a base and the elimination of most of the military personnel employed here.
Looking in more detail at the availability of Hamas and allies, it is absolutely worth mentioning that speed of action and movement has been a game changer, thus leading a militia armed mainly with small arms and RPG anti-tank systems to knock out numerous armored vehicles.
In the course of the assault, in fact, there were very few-if any- instances of use of the much more lethal and secure ATGM anti-tank systems, which in this case gave way to the much older shoulder-mounted grenade launchers. Still, wide availability of fire and speed proved to be a decisive combination, capable of nullifying the advantage represented by the immediate availability of numerous Merkava tanks and other armored infantry carriers armed with heavy machine guns.
Systems that, on the other hand, proved crucial to Israeli ground operations aimed at recapturing villages that had come under Palestinian control, where heavy vehicles provided cover and support to infantry and special forces.
Key points of attack
It is, therefore, a short list that allows the following to be summarized The key elements that could easily become a constant in the conduct of irregular warfare by armed groups - of all political and religious beliefs - currently existing, especially If conducted in favorable territory that is difficult to defend compared to the flat Israeli countryside, where nature and the lay of the land offer few defenses and hiding places.
But such an episode also represents a critical practical lesson for state actors, who often seem to rely too heavily on remotely controlled technologies and systems. Indeed, the Palestinian attack proved for the umpteenth time that what will always make the difference on a battlefield are individual men, who if well trained and commanded, can easily prevail over the latest technology.
Net of all this, then, it is absolutely worth summarizing in brief the elements that enabled offensive success of an irregular armed group on an enemy clearly superior in men, armaments and technology. They are:
- The long planning and speed of execution
- The element of surprise
- Armed action along different fronts (land, sea and air)
- The use of armed commercial drones against tanks and infantry
- The rapid and lightning fast advance into enemy territory
- The use of fear and panic as a weapon
- The combination of speed and availability of anti-tank weapons
- The engagement of an enemy superior in numbers and means in an urban setting
- The ability to eliminate remotely operated weapon and observation systems
Andrea De Poli
Class of 1996, he graduated in 2020 with a degree in linguistic sciences from the Catholic University of the
Sacro Cuore in Milan, later perfecting his studies in Strategic Affairs at LUISS in Rome.
He previously worked for the family business group, while now serving as an analyst for Menerva. He has always devoted part of his spare time to the study of major armed, social and political conflicts of the 20th century and the present day. Over the years, he has also devoted special attention to the entire social, political and economic context of the Middle East, Ukraine and North Africa. In 2021, he published "Hezbollah: History, Organization
and doctrine of the Party of God."
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