The Washington Post said that the Israeli army is expected to face severe difficulties in its ground military operation that it intends to launch in the Gaza Strip, as Tel Aviv says its goal is to eliminate the Hamas movement, which controls the sector.

The newspaper indicated in a lengthy report that Israel army is expected to face difficulties in densely populated areas in Gaza, because Hamas fighters may attempt to ambush Israeli army forces from tunnels and amid the rubble, indicating that this limited space may limit the ability to maneuver.

The newspaper described the Israeli army as "one of the strongest armies in the world," but clearly indicated that Hamas was apparently preparing for a large-scale Israeli ground operation, and added that the intense Israeli bombing had turned the buildings and streets of Gaza into a maze of rubble.

An Israeli ground invasion of Gaza is likely to limit the scope of attacks that can be carried out from the air, so as not to endanger Israeli forces on the ground.

In the context of its talk about the challenges that will face the occupation army, the newspaper says that the rubble could be used as a hideout from which Hamas attacks Israeli soldiers. It added that Hamas may also try to direct Israeli army soldiers to areas where explosive devices and explosives have been planted.

The newspaper pointed out that Hamas may also use suicide drones, in addition to the quadcopters it also used, on October 7, 2023, while carrying out the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, and these helicopters may also be used to drop explosives from the air.

The newspaper also explained that "threats may come from any direction. For example, they may place snipers on the roofs of buildings" to target Israeli soldiers.

While the occupation army may use a tactic that combines infantry, armored vehicles, and other support elements to advance. Armored vehicles will provide cover and firepower for fighters, but - according to the newspaper - the narrow streets may restrict their movement and make them vulnerable to anti-tank fire.

The Washington Post believes that objectives in this operation can only be achieved through infantry combat, and this will require soldiers to move from area to area, and from door to door, to evacuate and “clean” buildings.

However, Hamas fighters will be able to move from one location to another through openings made in the walls, and the newspaper also mentioned “Hamas tunnels,” which may enable its fighters to hide and try to surprise Israeli soldiers.

The newspaper claimed that some of these tunnels are used to produce missiles, and others house senior Hamas officials. The newspaper highlighted that attempting to destroy the tunnels with air attacks could harm civilians, and this raises concerns about the fate of prisoners and missing persons.

For his part, Michael Eisenstadt, director of the Military and Security Studies Program at the Washington Center for Middle East Policy, said: “It appears that the major ground operation may focus on Gaza City, at least initially, and perhaps to a limited extent on other places as well, but the bombing is likely to continue.” "Artillery and air strikes targeted additional targets throughout the Gaza Strip as well."

In turn, Ghaith Al-Omari, a researcher at the Washington Institute for Middle East Policy, said: “The ground campaign will inevitably have dire consequences for civilians in the Gaza Strip, as the nature of urban construction there means that this operation will face fierce resistance.”

Al-Omari added that the operation "will require the use of massive force on the part of Israel, and what is worrying about this operation is that it may continue for an unprecedented period, and civilians will not only be at direct risk of death and injury, but will also be exposed to a severe and long-term shortage of humanitarian aid."

For the fifteenth consecutive day, the Israeli army continues, for the fifteenth day in a row, to target the Gaza Strip with intense air strikes that destroyed entire neighborhoods. According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli bombing of the Strip, since October 7, 2023, caused the death of 4,137 people, including 1,524 children, in addition to 13,000 injured people.