IOF 'total chaos' amid Gaza exposed, underreported: Ex-Israeli general
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The state of chaos is particularly pertaining to the availability of war equipment and logistical services needed for war.
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Israeli troops are seen during a ground invasion in Gaza on November 8, 2023. (AP)
A former Israeli officer has revealed that despite complete silence on Israeli media outlets, there is "total chaos" among the Israeli occupation forces' ranks following months of aggression against Palestinians in the confined Gaza Strip.
Yitzhak Brik disclosed in an interview for the Israeli Maariv on Saturday that the disorder was particularly regarding the availability of war equipment and logistical services required for war.
Brik divulged that there is "total chaos. Equipment, logistics, food and everything needed to move forward is not working," due to the IOF entrusting private companies.
He detailed how there were "dozens" of Israeli tanks in Gaza that needed repairing and that he attempted to warn Benjamin Netanyahu, to no avail, since his cabinet members refused to "hear the truth" and kept Brik away.
He recalled speaking to Netanyahu and alerting him that the IOF were not ready to engage in a full war since there were troops that had not trained for years, along with an extreme shortage of supplies.
According to Maariv, the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza, which went terribly wrong in the first place, was delayed because the leadership was concerned that the Palestinian Resistance was "well-prepared for this scenario."
The IOF have suffered heavy losses with their battles against Palestinian Resistance factions in Gaza, with one of their troops recently killed Saturday, identified as Staff Sergeant Narya Belete in the Givati Brigade.
With the latest announcement, the number of Israeli occupation troops killed since the start of the war on Gaza now stands at 578, including 239 in the ongoing ground invasion of the Strip, as per the Israeli military. But footage of top-tier operations published by the military media of the Palestinian Resistance factions indicates that the losses incurred are much greater than officially declared.
Israeli, US officials 'astonished' by Hamas tunnels: NYT
In mid-January, The New York Times revealed intimate details of the shock expressed by some Israeli and American officials regarding tunnels in Gaza used by the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas.
One tunnel in Gaza was large enough for a senior Hamas leader to drive a car through it. Another was approximately three football fields long. The Israeli occupation forces claimed they discovered a spiral staircase beneath the home of a top Hamas leader, leading to a tunnel around seven floors deep.
Video and photo footage of the tunnels showcase why the Israeli forces were terrified of the tunnels before their onslaught in Gaza.
The occupation forces now have reason to believe there are scores more tunnels beneath Gaza, and US and Israeli officials have expressed surprise at the "scope, depth, and quality" of the tunnels, even some of the gear used by Hamas to construct the tunnels.
Senior Israeli officials anonymously told NYT that the network is estimated to be between 350 and 450 miles long, which is exceptional for a territory with a longest point of about 25 miles. Two of the officers also estimated that there are around 5,700 different shafts heading down to the tunnels.
Aaron Greenstone, a former CIA officer with experience in the Middle East, expressed that Hamas made use of the "time and resources over the last 15 years to turn Gaza into a fortress."
According to Greenstone, the tunnels are now considered a "subterranean nightmare" for the Israeli forces.
Israeli officials admitted that destroying the tunnels would not be an "easy task", since they need to be mapped, examined for captives, and not simply impaired but made irreparable. Recent attempts to obliterate the tunnels by flooding them with seawater were unsuccessful.
Officials have also anticipated that it would take years to deactivate Hamas' tunnel system.
