Khan Younis Presents New and Different Challenges for the IDF

The IDF faces new, different challenges in fighting in the south of the Gaza Strip, with wider areas to cover and secure, masses of civilians still present, and a Hamas command structure that is still largely in place.

Ynet military correspondent Yoav Zeitun reported today (Sunday) on the struggles the IDF faces in operating in the southern Gaza Strip, in and around the city of Khan Younis, where many of the hostages and senior Hamas commanders are said to be hiding.

According to his reporting, unlike in Gaza City where most of the civilian residents have fled and where the IDF regularly occupies and raids the heart of Hamas bastions, at Khan Younis, the IDF has to spread out more to try and seal off the city and act more carefully - especially due to thousands of Hamas terrorists who fled south from the fighting in Gaza City. The lack of relative cover in the southern Strip also introduces new hazards for IDF troops.

Right now, IDF forces are focused on trying to "rattle the cage" of Hamas with constant raids and encounters, most of which end in IDF tactical victories. Due to the time crunch, they are also prioritizing targets rather than taking a completionist approach to dealing with every tunnel shaft.

Nevertheless, the IDF thinks operations will take many more months to entirely root our Hamas and are not thinking in terms of immediate or swift victory.