With improved intelligence and advanced drones, the IDF is breaking into the main arteries of Hamas's tunnel network. An Israel Hayom correspondent joined the 7th Brigade forces in Khan Younis to hear how doctrine has changed and what has made underground warfare more effective.
Dust clouds from IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip are visible from afar, deep inside enemy territory. The fine Gazan sand, like a powder, coats everything: soldiers, equipment, shelters. It's almost like a visa stamp for entering the Gaza Strip.
This is the first press tour in Gaza since the launch of Operation Gideon's Chariots, the IDF's large-scale military operation announced with great fanfare in mid-May. The overwhelming sense is one of déjà vu.
Waves of destruction stretch out before us, dirt roads carved through the wreckage, rows upon rows of burned and demolished houses, occasionally broken by a small yard that somehow survived the war, with a few trees and a lone chicken. Just like in previous visits, the view outside the armored vehicle window reveals total devastation, with no visible trace of the elusive enemy that turned Khan Younis into its fortress.
Waves of destruction stretch out before us, dirt roads carved through the wreckage, rows upon rows of burned and demolished houses, occasionally broken by a small yard that somehow survived the war, with a few trees and a lone chicken. Just like in previous visits, the view outside the armored vehicle window reveals total devastation, with no visible trace of the elusive enemy that turned Khan Younis into its fortress.
We're riding in a sealed Namer armored personnel carrier, unlike the open jeeps of earlier tours, a sign of the threat from Hamas's explosives-rigged combat zones, the terrorist group's new modus operandi. After a 50-minute drive, a testament to how deep IDF forces are operating inside the Gaza Strip, we disembark directly into a fortified IDF position. There we meet Col. S., commander of the 7th Armored Brigade, who starts the tour with the most important update: (Read More)
