Senior IDF officers fear that Hamas and other terrorist organizations understand the limitations under which the IDF operates, and prepare accordingly, which creates an advantage for them in combat. For this reason, they stressed, the army will have difficulty achieving the goals required of it, Walla reported on Sunday.
Field officers made it clear to the senior commanders that restrictions must be removed despite the political pressure since the reality on the ground is playing against the IDF.
The eastern part of the city of Rafah has been defined as a target for full maneuvering by the IDF, with the approval of the political echelon. At the same time, senior officers warn that without knowing what the next target is, the progress of the forces is quite predictable, as well as the progress in the maneuvers of the 162nd Division. According to them, the terrorist organizations in Rafah and its environs not only understand very well the limitations under which the 162nd Division operates but also prepare accordingly and produce clear tactical advantages in fighting against the IDF.
These advantages have brought about the killing of several IDF soldiers in southern Gaza this past week.
Officers in the field made it clear to the visiting senior command that the brigade and division levels find it very difficult to incorporate deception in their maneuvers because of those limitations, and so, will find it difficult to carry out the required assignments as part of the goals of the war.
“We need to increase the pressure on Hamas in Rafah,” said one of the officers. “The IDF should be allowed to maneuver quickly and in a more powerful, more aggressive way. Over time, when we reach the focal points, the smuggling tunnels from Egypt and the underground systems in the heart of the city, the rewards will come faster.”
The IDF believes that even these days Hamas and other terrorist organizations and criminal clans continue to operate smuggling tunnels along the Philadelphi axis at the Egyptian border, most likely with help from local Egyptian military personnel.
