Whenever Gaza Goes Dark, the IDF Goes All-In
A blackout is the surest sign of the next Israeli blitzkrieg
Speculation abounded as to whether Israel’s imminent and inevitable ground invasion of Gaza would consist of slow, exploratory attacks, or a sudden and massive show of force to surprise and overwhelm Hamas.
Although the first few days of perceptible incursion seemed to show the former strategy at play, the IDF approach is now better described as a blitz, with thousands of soldiers encircling and laying siege to Gaza City.
The initial hint that the Israeli invasion was more substantive than perceived came in the form of a complete blackout of communications and power throughout the strip for 34 hours, starting on Friday, Oct 27th.
The IDF, under that cover, rolled in an unspecified, still not completely known, yet clearly significant force of infantry and armor, sufficient to split Gaza into two, control the beaches, and establish strongholds.
The latest headlines reveal another communications blackout today, suggestive of the next major push, presumably into the heart of Gaza City. Blitz upon blitz, the Israelis are emboldened, and are going all-in.
So far the loss of Palestinian life and magnitude of their suffering have been staggering, set to only get far worse as these urban battles expand and dig in. Over 300,000 civilians allegedly remain within the zone of combat.
Global opinion has radically flipped from sympathy for Israel after the Oct 7th attacks to millions marching amid outbreaks of violent antisemitism. Significant political and social schisms are forming throughout the US.
Israel doesn’t care. The Lion was asleep, but is now awake, and as Netanyahu quoted scripture this weekend, out for divine revenge. Nothing and no one will be able to stop them from trying to kill all of Hamas.
The IDF blitzkrieg strategy suggests they believe a rapid victory is possible. Cut Gaza in two, encircle and siege Gaza City, cut off supplies and reinforcements, gut the tunnels, and eliminate them sector-by-sector.
The next 2–3 weeks will prove critical. Either 1) Israel succeeds with this plan as evinced by Hamas totally collapsing in the North; or 2) the urban warfare degenerates into a protracted war of attrition lasting months.
If the IDF blitz works, then conceivably the entire northern part of Gaza could be under Israeli control much faster than anyone anticipated. Civilian casualties will be enormous, but the main fighting would be over.
If the IDF blitz doesn’t completely dismantle Hamas, and the Israeli forces are bogged down in an urban quagmire that becomes 1,000x Fallujahs, then the worst of all worst case scenarios begins, no end in sight…
Last Friday Iran, by way of China, showed its hand, compelling Hezbollah to cool their rockets and not declare war. For now, that reduced the threat of a multifront, multicountry conflict erupting while the Gaza battles rage.
In my opinion, we’re in the most dangerous phase of this post-Oct 7th situation. Israel is flush with renewed confidence after so rapidly blitzing into and through Gaza, and feels as if victory is within their reach.
That hubris, coupled with their blood lust after Hamas went full-ISIS in their brutality against 1,400 Israelis, with about 250 hostages still held, will make a reckless attacking force even more reckless and destructive.
Urban warfare is notoriously chaotic and surprising. The information trickling in from the region is clearly biased, similar to data from Ukraine. We don’t know exactly what’s going on, but it’s enough to freak us all out.
But the one thing we can be sure of is that Israel will not grant a ceasefire. The IDF is blitzing, feels it’s on a roll, and if killing thousands of Palestinian children hasn’t slowed them down so far, it sure as Hell won’t now.
#DoOrDie #AllorNothing #holdyourbreath #relentlessonslaught
