With the Gaza ground assault, Israel is confronting the "most difficult combat environment," according to a veteran US Army general.
The international community has been waiting for Israel's response since Hamas gunmen breached the Gaza-Israel barrier on Oct. 7 and proceeded to attack both military outposts and civilian locations across southern Israel, killing an estimated 1,400 people and kidnapping at least 200 more.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have launched retaliatory airstrikes across the Gaza Strip after the initial attacks. For days, IDF ground soldiers have been observed assembling near the Gaza Strip, preparing for a military attack while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have called for Hamas' total destruction.
“This is the most difficult combat environment on the planet,” Mr. Gaub told NTD News’ “Capitol Report” on Tuesday.
During his 28-year military career, Mr. Gaub held a variety of military positions, including combat aviation officer, operating Black Hawk helicopters and coordinating air attack operations.
According to Mr. Gaub's study, the IDF's air campaign over Gaza has likely exacerbated the obstacles of urban fighting.
“What makes it even harder is when you’ve turned many buildings across the Gaza City into rubble, and now you’ve taken streets that are normally passable, vehicles can go down those, and you fill them up with all this rubble, made everything more difficult to move,” he said. “So imagine, you know, the worst combat environment in the world and you’ve made it even harder by what’s going on in Gaza City.”
According to Mr. Gaub, the IDF will most likely have to bring in specialized engineering equipment to clear streets and allow other vehicles to continue traveling in the case of a ground attack. He compared the conditions that IDF soldiers would encounter in a ground assault to those that Russia's Wagner Group private military firm experienced in a multi-month war to capture control of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
“We all saw how long that took and how many casualties the Russian’s Wagner Group took to be able to capture that city. This will be far harder and far bloodier,” Mr. Gaub said.
