Former commander warns: 'Israel will suffer heavy losses, I told Netanyahu to wait'
A former Israeli commander has advised caution regarding the army's ground intervention in the blockaded Gaza Strip, stating that the military will suffer serious losses.
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Retired Major General Itzhak Brik, who served as the Military Ombudsman for Reservists in the Israeli army, made statements to the Israeli state television channel KAN.
Brik said, "I advised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to wait for a ground operation because the army is not ready yet."
Stating that Palestinian groups in Gaza have understood the Israeli army's ground intervention plans, Brik said, "They realized long ago that we would attack and they have prepared their defenses." He warned that Israeli forces would encounter "anti-tank weapons, mines, and booby traps."
Brik added, "If the Israeli army enters Gaza, it will suffer heavy losses and its strength will be significantly diminished."
"IT WILL TAKE MONTHS TO DESTROY HAMAS"
Pointing out that the most important task for Israeli forces upon entering Gaza would be "destroying Hamas and Islamic Jihad members in the tunnels," Brik assessed, "This will take a very long time, perhaps months."
The retired commander emphasized that a "large portion" of Israeli forces would need to be involved during the intervention in Gaza, arguing that there would be "months of intense combat."
Predicting that the Israeli army would not be able to "completely destroy" Palestinian resistance groups even over this long period, Brik stated, "This situation will be seen as a great victory for Hamas."
Brik also warned that an intervention in Gaza could "turn into a regional war," and said that "airstrikes should continue" and "the siege should continue for several months."
LATEST SITUATION IN ISRAEL'S ATTACKS
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, launched a comprehensive attack on Israel on the morning of October 7, dubbed "Al-Aqsa Flood." The Israeli army also began attacking the Gaza Strip with dozens of fighter jets. It was reported that 1,400 Israelis, including 308 soldiers, were killed and 5,132 Israelis were injured in the attacks from Gaza.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that 5,791 people, including 2,360 children and 1,292 women, have been killed and 16,297 people have been injured in Israel's attacks on Gaza.