'Israel will deal with Hamas same way ISIS was dealt with - there's no choice'

14 October 2023 , 19:29

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A soldier stands guard near the Israeli-Gaza border (Image: Ilia Yefimovich/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

Israel will now deal with Hamas the same way as the anti-IS coalition dealt with IS. There was no choice then, there is no choice now.

Former MI6 boss Alex Younger says Hamas is laying a trap for Israel. He’s right in two ways.

First, Hamas aims to draw Israel into a bloody quagmire. Its 20,000 or so gunmen will fight with suicidal courage as well as intelligence. Israeli soldiers will need to deal with gunmen in tunnels and on rooftops.

They will take casualties. Chiefs will have to make terrible decisions when they’re faced with human shields, including Israeli hostages.

A fireball erupts during an Israeli bombardment in the northern Gaza Strip (AFP via Getty Images)

However, Israel’s well-trained army has also spent years preparing and training for this operation. They will deploy AI-piloted drone swarms. Eventually, they will defeat Hamas.

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However, as Palestinian civilians die in their thousands, the second trap for Israel will open up when international support starts to ebb. As we learned in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, you can win every battle and still lose the war.

Frank Ledwidge