Photo Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
Al Shati section of Gaza was pockmarked with concealed rocket launchers, all placed as close as possible to schools, a basketball court and even a medical clinic.

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.

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“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.


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Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years working in broadcast journalism.