A former top US general has warned Israel’s ground conflict against Hamas in the Gaza strip could last years and end up being like “Mogadishu on steroids.”
Petraeus, former CIA director and the US’ top general in both Iraq and Afghanistan, warned that IDF’s current course of bombing followed by land invasion could quickly become Mogadishu on steroids.
The warning, given to Politico, referred to a two-day fight in Somalia’s capital city in 1993 between US soldiers, the Somali National Alliance (SNA), and armed residents.
Three US Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by resistance fighters, resulting in intense urban warfare that lasted many hours and was the worst single engagement conducted by US soldiers since the Vietnam War.
Despite the fact that the US won the engagement, 18 American soldiers were killed and another 73 were injured, while Somali deaths were believed to be as high as 700.
Patraeus, 70, cautioned that Hamas may use intricate and lethal methods and techniques, resulting in a similarly Pyrrhic victory for IsraelÂ
‘If [Hamas] as creative in the defense as they were in that horrific, barbaric, unspeakable attack, then you’ll see suicide bombers, you’ll see improvised explosive devices, there will be ambushes, booby traps, and the urban setting, again, could not be more challenging.’ Patraeus told the Daily Mail.
He cautioned that the projected IDF onslaught may take years to complete: ‘It’s tough for me to envision a more challenging scenario than this one, and I’ve commanded soldiers in a lot of significant urban operations.Â
‘You don’t win counterinsurgencies in a year or two. They typically take a decade or more, as we saw in Iraq, as we saw in Afghanistan.
Over the weekend, Gaza witnessed the most violent bombardment by Israeli forces since the conflict started, killing more than 400 people, mostly women and children, in 24 hours. Israeli forces said on Monday they attacked more than 320 military targets overnight.
The strikes hit different areas in southern and northern Gaza, including Rafah city, Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah. One of the deadliest attacks hit residential units in Jabalia refugee camp, where at least 30 people were killed.
Aid trucks continued to enter Gaza after the Rafah crossing reopened on Saturday, with 17 more trucks arriving on Sunday. However, experts called the aid only “a drop in the ocean†and said more than 100 trucks a day would be required to meet the humanitarian needs of the besieged Gaza Strip.
Israel launched a rare air attack on the occupied West Bank, hitting a mosque inside the Jenin refugee camp and killing two people. The crackdown by heavily armed Israeli forces in the West Bank continued, with dozens arrested from the cities of Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron.
Tens of thousands of Israelis are being evacuated from towns close to the country’s northern border with Lebanon amid increasing skirmishes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.