Major General Reserve Yitzhak Brik wrote an article in the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" in which he confirmed that the "military" and Israeli analysts are publishing a false picture of the numbers of Hamas fighters who were targeted.



The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" talks about the wrong image presented by the "military" and Israeli analysts about the killing of thousands of Hamas fighters. Reserve Major General Ishaq Brik (former Soldiers' Complaints Commissioner) said that the "Army" and its analysts continue to falsify images of this kind, as if they have not learned anything.

The following is the text translated into English:

Based on information that I (Res. Major General Yitzhak Brik) received from soldiers and officers fighting in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, I reached the following conclusion: The Israeli “Army” spokesman and the military analysts in the television studios present a false picture of “thousands of Hamas deaths and the face-to-face fighting between Our forces and their forces."

The number of Hamas members “killed” by our forces on the ground is much lower. Most of the war is not fought face-to-face, as the spokesman and analysts claim, and most of our dead and wounded were hit by Hamas's canisters and anti-tank missiles.

Hamas fighters come out of the tunnel openings to plant explosives, set traps, and fire anti-tank missiles at our armored vehicles, then disappear back into the tunnels. The Israeli army currently does not have quick solutions to the fight against Hamas, most of whose members are hiding in tunnels.

It is clear that the Israeli army spokesman and senior officials of the security and military establishment want to portray the war as a major victory before the picture becomes clear. To this end, they are bringing reporters from major TV channels to Gaza to film “victory pictures.” This is the most photographed war ever waged by Israel, perhaps even in the entire world.

But creating images of victory before we even come close to achieving our goals can be extremely harmful. If those goals are not ultimately fully achieved - destroying Hamas' capabilities and freeing prisoners - we had better be more humble.

This reminds me of how these reporters and analysts from major television studios, along with retired generals, told us, before the strike directed at us by Hamas in the south, that the Israeli “army” is the strongest army in the Middle East, and that our enemies are deterred. Unfortunately, these same reporters, analysts and retired generals continue to fabricate images of this kind, as if they have learned nothing.

Destroying Hamas' tunnels will take many years, and will cost Israel many lives. The "military" itself now admits that there are hundreds of kilometers of tunnels deep underground, with multiple branches, some even consisting of several floors, with many good points to launch a battle. It was built by Hamas over decades with the advice of prominent experts, and it connects the length and breadth of Gaza, and also connects it to the Sinai Peninsula under the city of Rafah.

The idea that Hamas is a deterrent has persisted for many years. As a result, all plans for fighting in Gaza, its tunnels and all possible tools to do so were cancelled. That's why our experts did not sit down to study, plan and manufacture equipment suitable for underground warfare. For this reason, today we try to improvise solutions, but this does not provide an effective response.

Many of the “officers” fighting in Gaza told me that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to prevent Hamas from rebuilding itself, even after all the destruction the Israeli “army” has inflicted on its bases.

This effort will require us to maintain significant forces in Gaza for many years to come and continue to fight Hamas fighters who will emerge from tunnels, fire anti-tank missiles, plant explosives, set traps, and inflict significant casualties on the IDF. Therefore, we will need to leave dense urban areas and operate in a more surgical manner through raids (incursions) and air strikes based on accurate intelligence.

Are politicians and senior officials of the security and military establishment capable of dealing with such a scenario? Are they able to think of other creative solutions, so that we will not emerge as the biggest winners of everything we want, but also not be the biggest losers?

Source: Al-Mayadeen