When it comes to ground war in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has two choices, neither of which is palatable. Either he wages a small-scale operation that is unlikely to have tangible results, or he orders a full-scale offensive that carries high risk coupled with a certainty of international rebuke. Since the night of Monday, 7 July, Israeli planes have pounded various parts of Gaza in what was dubbed Operation Protective Edge. The bombardement has left near 200 people dead and 1,400 injured so far, mostly civilians. Although the Netanyahu government is waging the assault in order to pacify Gaza, armed Palestinian groups, including the Qassam Brigades of Hamas and the Quds Brigades of the Islamic Jihad, managed to fire hundreds of rockets onto Israeli towns. The rocket shelling reached destinations that were never targeted in the past, such as Haifa, which is 130 kilometres north of Gaza, and Dimona, the location of Israel's nuclear reactor. Analysts say that Netanyahu is hesitant to order a ground battle in Gaza because of the risks involved, and that his statements to the contrary may be a mere bluff. A ground invasion will mean infantry troops deployed in a heavily populated region, making them target to attacks, including abduction. There is also the chance that a ground invasion may lead to wide-scale turbulence in the West Bank, Jerusalem and parts of Israel. Palestinian military expert Major General Abdallah Al-Atira, said that a Gaza invasion “was likely to be costly”. “Regardless of the fire power Israel may have, Gaza is a maze that the youngest of children know inside out, and so does the resistance.” Al-Atira said that the Israeli government was hoping for a quick war that would take Hamas by surprise, but the intensive fire by the resistance threw Israel off balance. Israel's air force commander, Amir Eshel, voiced his opposition to a ground operation in Gaza, saying that the air force can do a better job. Speaking in a meeting with Netanyahu and Israel's top brass, Eshel said that Israel's planes can destroy rocket launchers with precision strikes and that there was no need for large-scale ground offensive that may have “lots of risks, casualties and errors”. The dozens of underground tunnels in Gaza offer another challenge for the Israeli army, as well as a tactical advantage to Hamas and other resistance groups, in case of urban warfare. The Qassam Brigades called the current battle with Israel, “Al-Asf Al-Maak” or Charred Land, in reference to its unprecedented shelling of Haifa and Dimona. The resistance promised to wage a long-term war on Israel in retaliation for its assault on Gaza. Abu Obeida, the military spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, said in a statement aired on the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV that the group was prepared for a long war. “We reassure you that we have prepared ourselves for a very long battle, not one that lasts for a week or 10 days as the enemy commanders say, but one that lasts for many, many weeks.” Reacting to remarks by Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon, Abu Obeida said: “Are you threatening us, son of a Jewess? We swear by God who created heaven that Gaza will be waiting for you like an omen of death. The world will see the skulls of your soldiers trampled under the bare feet of Gaza's children. We will make this the opportunity for hope for our prisoners and a dawn for approaching freedom.” A commando unit from the Qassam Brigades attacked the Israeli naval base of Zikim on the shores of Ashkelon, north of Gaza, and clashed with Israeli soldiers stationed there. The Qassam Brigades also said that it managed to repulse an Israeli navy commando unit that tried to infiltrate into Gaza on Saturday night, injuring four of its members. The Israeli mini cabinet decided Sunday night to continue the aerial attacks on Gaza, but no decision was made about a ground assault. During the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday, Netanyahu said that no date has been set for the end of the operation. “We don't know when the operation will end, it may take a long time,” he stated. Israeli analysts say that the army has lost the element of surprise in this war. Not only did it fail to destroy the medium and long-range missiles stationed in Gaza, but it also couldn't assassinate any of Hamas's top leaders. If Israel were to launch a ground war, analysts warned, its troops are likely to run into stiff resistance from Hamas and other groups, whose fighters are likely to use anti tank missiles and roadside bombs to inflict heavy casualties on Israeli soldiers. Former Mossad chief Danny Yatom told Israel's Channel 10 that the Israeli army was having “great difficulty” targeting missile launchers and pinpointing targets in Gaza. “Those who fire missiles from Gaza seem to be firing them from their pockets. They leave no trace or clue as to guessing their locations. They all operate in the same manner, as if trained by one person,” Yatom added. Israel's Channel 2 military analyst Ronny Daniel said that Hamas wants to drag the Israelis into a ground war, because it will have “the upper hand” in such a war. “I advise not to get into a ground war with Hamas, because boots on the ground means that our soldiers can be captured, no doubt about it,” Daniel added. It seems that the Netanyahu government is listening to these words of caution. It is said to be seeking ways of reviving the 2012 calming-down agreement. But many in Israel say that the Gaza groups must be disarmed as part of any future agreement, so that the Israeli army wouldn't keep going back to war. In 2012, Israel and Hamas reached a calming-down agreement with Egyptian mediation, after a brief war that Israel called Pillar of Cloud and Hamas dubbed “Hijarat Sijjil”, or Rocks of Hell. Israeli sources say that Israel is seeking a deal by which it ends the siege on Gaza in return for the complete disarmament of Gaza under UN supervision. Hamas, for its part, says that a future deal must lead to the release of prisoners that Israel recaptured recently, to Israel's dropping of all objections to the current government of national reconciliation, and to the reopening of Gaza's crossings.
