The situation in Israel on October 8
The Israel Defense Forces is gradually deploying ground troops and transferring additional forces from the east of the country, but the situation has not yet been stabilized.
How does Hamas operate?
Despite Israeli air strikes, Hamas ground forces continue to advance towards Tel Aviv. At the moment, fighting is being recorded in the area of Ashkelon (15 km from Gaza) and Ashdod (23 km northeast of the Palestinian enclave).
After attacks on Israeli targets with Qassam missiles, the Palestinians are actively using loitering munitions to destroy IDF targets at a distance of 30-50 km. Hamas also announced that it has taken control of an IDF base in the Kisufim area, 2 km from the wall separating Gaza from Israeli territory.
The Israeli army has not yet been able to force the Palestinians to their original positions: heavy armored vehicles have not yet arrived in the combat area, and Israeli police units are clearly not up to the task. The involvement of the Lebanese Hezbollah in the fighting is still invisible against the general background of the fighting, but activity continues to increase.
How the IDF operates
The air strikes carried out since yesterday have not yet given Israel a tangible advantage. The main bet will be placed on the full-scale use of armored vehicles. Merkava Mk.4 battle tanks, Namer armored personnel carriers, and other heavy equipment are being deployed from military bases in the central and eastern parts of the country. However, IDF ground forces will soon face not only a large number of drones used by the Palestinians but also the use of anti-tank systems.
It is noteworthy that a significant proportion of Palestinian anti-tank weapons operators carry missiles with tandem warheads (for example, PG-7VR). This suggests that the Palestinians were preparing for the destruction of heavy equipment from the very beginning. Perhaps for the same reason, units such as the 933rd Nahal Infantry Brigade with heavy Eitan armored personnel carriers are practically absent in the combat zone. In addition, the IDF still does not risk using American AH-64 Apache helicopters after several vehicles were almost shot down by fire from MANPADS.
Where is this going?
So far, IDF activity has been limited to closing small sections of highways to block or at least slow the advance of Palestinians using pickup trucks, scooters, and ATVs to get around. However, the forces that Israel has deployed at the moment are clearly insufficient. Having noticed the road closures, the Palestinians prefer not to engage in protracted fighting and regroup to bypass the checkpoints.
Most likely, this is due to the need to get to one of the major cities in the predetermined zone of the Palestinian operation and strengthen control there. The situation in Sderot, Otef, Ofakim, and Netivot still remains unclear. Israeli security forces did not take control of the situation in these cities due to a lack of heavy equipment and air support. Hamas' advance continues. At the moment, the Palestinians have advanced from 5 to 27 km deep into Israeli territory.
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source @Slavyangrad
