A special U.S.-based task force created to study the 2014 Gaza War fought last summer by Israel against the enclave’s ruling Hamas terrorist organization is warning the United States to pay heed to the lessons learned in the conflict by the IDF.
Commissioned and supported by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), the task force said in a new report the strategy employed by Hamas during the war is a new type of threat.
“The new face of war,” the report called the Hamas style of fighting last summer, saying it threatens to “undermine the effectiveness of conventional militaries, endangers civilians in irregular conflicts and distorts the international legal structure,” the report said.
“The 2014 Gaza War featured a hybrid non-state force – Hamas – that perhaps uniquely combined four elements: • Acting with reckless disregard for civilian safety, if not deliberately putting them in harm’s way; • Distorting internationally-recognized legal standards to exploit legal protections afforded civilians and the casualties caused by this exploitation; • Portraying its opponent, through an information operations campaign, as legally culpable for what were lawful, defensive responses to aggression; and • Securing advantageous pressure from the international community on its opponent to terminate legitimate defensive military action.”
“American policymakers and military leaders should take heed and act to avert the potentially serious consequences for U.S. national security,” the task force warned.
