“The Kremlin wants to divert our attention from the war in Ukraine and stop our support for the Ukrainians. Since October 7 (when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, note ed.) there are almost no articles about Ukraine on the front pages of the media – because of the events in Israel. I don’t think this is a coincidence,” said the general, who is currently the chairman of the GLOBSEC think tank. In his words, Hamas and Hezbollah could not do anything significant if they did not receive help from Iran, reported German wave.
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Three major risks facing the Israeli army
In his interview with DV, he points out the three main risks for the Israeli army in connection with the ground operation it is preparing in the Gaza Strip. First of all, it is the complexity of the operation itself, because it will also include fighting in urban conditions, and “Hamas” knows this environment very well. Therefore, the group wants to make Israeli soldiers enter these settlements. There, they will not only be under intense pressure to minimize civilian casualties, but they will also be closely watched by everyone – journalists, lawyers, from around the world. And Hamas is fighting against them – a group that wants to eliminate them. For the younger officers and soldiers, it will be a big challenge, but it will also be a difficult task for the Israeli military in general, the general is convinced. In this regard, he adds that the Israeli army is perhaps the best in the world for conducting such type of battles.
The second big risk is related to the danger of Iran opening a second front in the war, for example through Hezbollah from Lebanon or anything else to create tension in the West Bank. Then the Israeli army will find itself attacked from different directions, which is completely real, Gen. is convinced. Hodges.
And thirdly is the question of this when will the Israeli operation end. “If the goal is to destroy Hamas and prevent terrorists from operating from the Gaza Strip, does that mean that Israeli soldiers will have to stay there for months?” That would be very, very difficult. Therefore, I think it is important to clarify the purpose of the mission. Let’s not forget another thing – in a ground operation there could be many Palestinian civilian casualties and many of the Israeli hostages could be killed. At the same time, the terrorists are aware that the hostages are much more valuable to them alive. “Hamas needs them, including because it knows very well how important it is for the Israelis that the hostages return alive,” says Gen. Hodges.
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Alternatives to land action?
When asked if there is any alternative to the ground operation, the former American military answered in the affirmative, but clarified that none of the possible alternatives would be satisfactory. “If the ground offensive has not yet started, it may mean that the conditions do not yet allow it: either not enough leadership of the terrorist organization, as well as infrastructure of Hamas, have not been destroyed, or preparations have not been completed – for example, strategic intelligence on the battlefield: the information about where the enemy is, where the civilians are, where the tunnels are. But they cannot delay for long because 300,000 reservists have been called up. I think that the ground operation will begin when the Israeli military judges that the conditions for it are present”, says gen. Hodges before DV.
Another question he addresses is whether the Israeli military is capable of fighting on multiple fronts – should Hezbollah and/or Iran decide to join the conflict. In this regard, the American representative recalls that the Israeli army has a significant military potential – more than 150,000 regular soldiers, to which more than 300,000 reservists are added. “The interesting thing is that 300,000 people were called and 360,000 showed up. People came back from the US to fight,” Hodges says, pointing out that Israel has the best air defense system in the world – Iron Dome. Therefore, the general believes that the Israelis can deal with multiple threats. “But it’s possible they’ll want to go further — for example, to go deep into Iran, Syria or other places to cut off the supply of ammunition from Iran.” And that’s exactly what many fear – lest the conflict go beyond Israel’s borders, says Ben Hodges.
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Escalation of the conflict?
As for the danger of the US becoming embroiled in a wider military conflict, the general says he considers that unlikely. “I don’t think Tehran wants to see the US Navy or any of its parts destroy what Iran has,” he said. The former commander-in-chief of the US forces in Europe is also convinced that the US can provide the necessary military aid to Israel and at the same time continue to support Ukraine. And of course, The US has made it very clear that it will help Israel defend itselfespecially against a terrorist organization such as “Hamas”, says Gen. Hodges in the DV interview.
When asked whether Russia is playing an active role in the current conflict in the Middle East, the general answered affirmatively: “I am 100% sure that this is a coordinated joint action by Iran and Russia.”
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Source: Deutsche Welle
2023-10-25 08:08:44
#Ben #Hodges #Russia #Iran #conflict #Middle #East
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