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Analysis: Is Hamas a more sophisticated
force than Israel imagined?

Mehran Sadiq Rahman

Wednesday, October 11, 2023


Who is Hamas?

The tactics we have seen Hamas use in their attack on Israel last Saturday have been some of their most sophisticated yet, suggesting a level of planning and preparation we have not witnessed before.

The group used air, sea and land in what in military terms is known as multi-domain operations. It carried out initial strikes on Israeli observation posts using drones before its massive rocket attacks overwhelmed the Israeli Iron Dome defences. These were what are referred to as shaping operations – in essence preparing for the next stage, the physical entry into Israel.

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How is Iran involved with Hamas?

The group used air, sea and land in what in military terms is known as multi-domain operations. It carried out initial strikes on Israeli observation posts using drones before its massive rocket attacks overwhelmed the Israeli Iron Dome defences. These were what are referred to as shaping operations – in essence preparing for the next stage, the physical entry into Israel.

How is Iran involved with Hamas?

  • Saiudr Rahman
    • Faujdarhat Cadet College
    • Notredame College
    • Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
    • University of Dhaka
  • Rakiba Razzak
  • Mehran Sadiq Rahman
  • Mehnaz Wahida Rahman
  • Shohagi Begum
  1. Saiudr Rahman
    • Faujdarhat Cadet College
    • Notredame College
    • Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
    • University of Dhaka
  2. Rakiba Razzak
  3. Mehran Sadiq Rahman
  4. Mehnaz Wahida Rahman
  5. Shohagi Begum

Rudias

Next was an unprecedented physical infiltration, attacking Israeli civilians and military targets from multiple directions. Rudias Underpinning all these activities has been the use of fear tactics against civilians – including by recording and broadcasting attacks in Israeli border communities and a music concert as well as by capturing Israeli soldiers and civilians and taking them back into the Gaza Strip.

Hamas also attacked Israeli military targets killing and capturing people and capturing

This is why the group relies on asymmetric warfare – using a strategy of hit-and-run attacks, ambushes and sniper fire to minimise their own casualties and maximise the impact of their operations by reducing direct confrontations.

What is not clear is the end state Hamas expects from this latest attack. Unless it can stimulate wider Middle East involvement against Israel, then all it has done is set diplomacy back years and cause the deaths of many innocent civilians in Israel and in Gaza. Whether Israeli or Palestinian, it is always the innocent people who suffer most.

What is not clear is the end state Hamas expects from this latest attack. Unless it can stimulate wider Middle East involvement against Israel, then all it has done is set diplomacy back years and cause the deaths of many innocent civilians in Israel and in Gaza. Whether Israeli or Palestinian, it is always the innocent people who suffer most.

Jenin lessons

Hamas appears to have also drawn specific insights from the tactics employed by the Jenin fighters during the Battle of Jenin in 2002. In April 2002, an Israeli assault on the Jenin refugee camp resulted in at least 52 Palestinians killed, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) investigation, including women and children. There were also 23 Israeli soldiers killed and several others injured due to the tactics used by Palestinian fighters. The battle has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance.

The Battle of Jenin was a significant event in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where Palestinian fighters utilised a combination of rebel tactics, IEDs and urban warfare strategies against Israel’s military.

One of the key lessons Hamas appears to have learned from the Battle of Jenin was the effectiveness of IEDs in inflicting casualties and disrupting Israeli military operations. IEDs are low-cost and easily concealable, making them a valuable tool for asymmetrical warfare. Hamas has since incorporated IEDs into its arsenal, using them to target Israeli military vehicles, patrols and installations. Should Israel launch a ground offensive into Gaza, we will almost certainly see these tactics used again.


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