Military and strategic expert Maj. Gen. Fayez al-Duwairi considered the landing operation – carried out by the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas" behind the lines of the Israeli army stationed near the Erez crossing – a microcosm of the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation on October 7.
Al-Duwairi said – in his military analysis segment on Al-Jazeera – that this new landing operation is more complicated in light of the repetition of the surprise, pointing out that the operation "Al-Aqsa Flood" was a military, operational, tactical, tactical and strategic surprise.
He referred to what the New York Times revealed about Israel stopping plans for a large-scale ground invasion of the Gaza Strip and replacing it with limited incursions, and said that this means that these forces are unable to achieve goals in "a black box in an unknown place where they fight ghosts."
Al-Qassam Brigades surprised all analysts today by moving the battle to Erez and is still thinking outside the box, al-Duwairi said, noting that there are small groups of resistance ranging from 3 to 5 individuals working in harmony that led this operation.
He pointed out that these groups operate in a cluster organization, indicating that each group has an association with the leadership and its own side link, in addition to its specific duty.
The military expert spoke about the importance of the Qassam tunnels, despite the sensors brought by the Israeli occupation army to try to detect them, in addition to the intensive shelling and the belt of fire that it has adopted since the beginning of the war.
Al-Duwairi expressed his conviction that the Qassam Brigades will succeed in causing a new surprise, especially since the information in the Israeli army about the tunnel network is incomplete and unclear.
Implications of Qassam Bombing
As for the implications of the ability of the resistance in Gaza to fire rocket barrages at the beginning of the fourth week of the war, al-Duwairi stressed that the Qassam Brigades are still proficient in command and control, and have an effective staff that tries to impose a bitter reality on the Israelis.
He added that the continued rocket shelling from Gaza aims to make the settlements of the "Gaza envelope" uninhabitable or inhabitable, in addition to imposing rules and restrictions to remain in shelters beyond this area, and even making the cities of central Israel hell, referring to Tel Aviv.
Regarding the weaknesses that seemed clear, the military expert stressed that the Israeli army lacks experience in two points, the first of which is asymmetric warfare, as well as fighting in cities and streets, despite the partial experience it gained in the 2006 Lebanon war.
Regarding the outlook for the Gaza battle, the military analyst believes that the IDF will maintain the incursions, while multiplying their locations in the hope of looking for a weak point to achieve a foothold for the development of operations.
Al-Duwairi pointed out that this will place a burden on the Israeli economy and the occupation army, while stressing that the battle of Gaza is completely different from the battle for Mosul, which was led by US General James Glenn.