48 hours after the shock caused by the launch of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm by Hamas militants on Israeli territory, the IDF has only just restored order on its territory this Monday morning. Shortly before 11 a.m., army spokesman General Daniel Hagari announced “total control” over the attacked southern cities during a press conference.
Earlier in the morning, the General Staff had been less optimistic. Certainly the majority of the 1,000 Hamas fighters who crossed the security barriers on Saturday to sow death in the streets of Sderot or Ashkelon have been eliminated or have retreated to the enclave, explained Lt. Col. Richard Hecht. However, seven towns continue to be the scene of urban fighting, he continued.
“We are still fighting, there are seven or eight places in the open terrain around the Gaza Strip where we still have warriors fighting terrorists,” he said. An admission of failure by this senior Israeli officer. “We thought we would have full control of the situation yesterday,” he admitted.
According to I24News, of the 24 Israeli communities near the fence separating them from the Gaza Strip, 15 were evacuated by the IDF. According to the news channel, fighting was still going on this Monday morning in Sderot, a city of 20,000 residents in the northeast of the Gaza Strip. The city of Ashkelon – population 150,000, north of the Hamas-controlled enclave – was under control, according to BFMTV.
Entrenched fighters
Why such difficulties? “The Israeli army is undoubtedly faced with Hamas militants holed up in houses who have probably taken civilians hostage, so it is difficult to intervene,” explains General Dominique Trinquand, former head of the French military mission to the United Nations. Hamas’s interest is to leave a lasting impression, having already shocked the world by penetrating what was considered an impenetrable security system. “The longer the occupation of Israeli towns lasts, the more it will show the strength of Hamas and the weakness of the IDF,” the expert summarizes.
Despite the recapture of the attacked areas in the south, there are still fears of the presence of Islamist fighters in the region near the Gaza border. Before closing the gaps in the fence through which the Hamas men entered, it is necessary to ensure that all attackers have been eliminated, while rumors of new intruders caused panic this Monday morning.
For example, I24News mentioned a possible infiltration this Monday in Kibbutz Sa’ad in the south of the country. The media also mentioned the case of a Hamas militant who was shot while trying to infiltrate an IDF base in Zikim. “There could still be terrorists in the area,” admitted General Daniel Hagari.