by Yonah Jeremy Bob
The operation is expected to last weeks as the IDF wraps up its operations in Rafah.
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The IDF’s current reinvasion of Shejaia has led to killing dozens of Hamas terrorists since Friday, but so far seems to be more about eliminating tunnels there which were missed during the first time through.
This is the fourth reinvasion staged by the IDF of northern and central Gaza since mid-March, with prior reinvasions including: Shifa Hospital, Jabalia, and Nuseirat.
IDF sources said that Division 98 surprised Hamas on Friday in broad daylight, succeeding in only 40 minutes in penetrating a new makeshift headquarters established inside a school and a pharmacy.
The operation is expected to last weeks as the IDF wraps up its operations in Rafah.
By early January, the IDF had already achieved operational control over Shejaia, but over recent months once the IDF withdrew from the area, Hamas has been reconstituting itself.
But, according to the IDF, it did not operate in all parts of Shejaia during the first invasion, and it did not penetrate a significant amount of Hamas’s tunnel network in the area.
Throughout the invasion of Gaza, IDF sources have emphasized that they would need years to eliminate all of the tunnels and are not necessarily being given sufficient time to do so.
IDF tackles new Hamas command center in short time
In the initial invasions of Gaza, many of the largest and most strategic tunnels with larger communications tools, intelligence centers, and more powerful weapons were destroyed, but significant aspects of smaller tunnels were not always fully accounted for.
By getting to the new Hamas command center in such a short time, the IDF was able to prevent most of the Hamas terrorists from escaping the operation – something which has been a problem in many other operations.
A number of those terrorists killed were part of anti-tank missile cells, which have been one of Hamas’s strongest assets in ambushing the IDF.
Still, the IDF did not use the technique of enclosing the entire area before going on attack, such that some terrorists may still have escaped.
IDF sources were somewhat defensive about needing to return to so many parts of Gaza where they had declared having achieved operational control.
The sources notes, however, that the speed with which the IDF was able to penetrate the area, that is, 40 minutes as opposed to the weeks it took in December, showed that whatever version of Hamas was trying to return was exponentially weaker.
Yonah Jeremy Bob
Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-808329
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