Netanyahu tells Israel ‘We are at war’ after Hamas launches an unprecedented attack, killing at leas

Your post seems encouraging. IMO, the faster Hamas is dismantled, the better not only for Israel but the Gazan civilians as well. I recently listened to a podcast with Graeme Wood telling Sam Harris about his understanding from various reporting that Hamas was itself surprised by its "success" (hate to use that word) on 10/7. That got me to thinking: if Hamas was not anticipating the number of causalities or hostages, it might be more vulnerable to get crushed in the backlash. Alternatively, I suppose it could be implementing more of a "playing possum" strategy rather than pushing for door to door fighting in Gazan neighborhoods. I'm hopeful there are contingencies for all possibilities.

 

All solid points. Hard to tell what's going on, but hard to imagine they are drawing the IDF in to a favorable location. Just hate the destruction and civilian loss of life. Also thinking about Hamas exit plans (tunnels to Egypt?)

 

Funker530 has a long, live show on YouTube regularly and plays a lot of combat footage with analysis. There's been a lot for footage out of Gaza lately, from both sides.

There were videos from Hamas showing them firing RPGs with a different warhead than what you would normally see on an RPG. The tactic they were employing was if the IDF didn't find all of the tunnel entrances in an area, they would wait for them to pass by, and emerge from the tunnels and attack the armor from the rear. Ronnie, the host, specifically mentioned that of all the clips coming from Hamas showing them striking the tanks, you never see the aftermath, only impacts. I thought the same thing while watching the clips.

 

The Trophy intercept system, when successful, intercepts the incoming about 5' away with a big explosion. Their videos would stop right on the explosion, not a second longer. So pretty sure that was intercept, not a tank explosion.

Did they conclude the same on that channel?

My only doubt was where there was one video where the Hamas fighter ran up, put an IED on the Merkava, ran back and fired another. I don't know about the second IED, but it would have been static in any event.

One Merkava was likely taken out by a mine (the only way Hezbollah did years ago) because the first IDF death reported was from a flipped over tank. But Hezbollah had been demonstrating a new system that fired 2 rounds .5 seconds apart, faster than Trophy can reset (1.5 seconds). They seemed to have success. Not sure. Thought Hamas might have that too. They might and it got suppressed. They did take out quite a few Merkavas on 10-7 with drones, but the Israelis installed top cages before the ground invasion and likely electronically suppressed as well.

We don't really know.

Pentagon confirmed today that Houthis shot down a US Reaper drone over Yemen. They likely got SAMs that operate at a higher ceiling than we thought they had or we didn't have Electronic suppression in the area. Not sure

 

He brought it up, but couldn't say for certain.

 

Hamas leaders say they have no regrets after the October 7 attack and that the goal was to 'overthrow' the status quo

 

So far, the IDF has destroyed 130 terror tunnels during the ground operation in Gaza, including one next to the UNRWA school. The latter a fact that the UNRWA never got around to mentioning.


https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-t...nnel-shafts-in-gaza-since-start-of-ground-op/

The military also said troops located and destroyed a Hamas tunnel adjacent to an UNRWA school in the Beit Hanoun area in northern Gaza.

The IDF said the 252nd Reserve Division captured the area in recent days, engaging in battles with Hamas operatives and demolishing the terror group’s infrastructure, including tunnels, compounds and launch positions. According to the military, since the beginning of the fighting, the 252nd Division has killed hundreds of Hamas operatives, including senior members, in Beit Hanoun and Jabaliya.

“Hamas has descended into an advanced and fortified underground system and built a number of protective mechanisms. Some of the tunnels can be attacked from the air,” the official said. “The ground entry of the IDF exposes the enemy’s infrastructure and the engineering corps has begun with the destruction of shafts and tunnels.”

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveb...cond-time-since-outbreak-of-israel-hamas-war/

Forces at the countryside of Deir Ezzor in northeastern Syria, December 8, 2021. (Baderkhan Ahmad/AP)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announces that two American F-15s conducted a strike on a weapons storage facility used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups in eastern Syria in response to another spate of attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by the IRGC and other Iran-backed forces.

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas...-with-any-ambulance-in-call-overheard-by-idf/

In the call intercepted and released by the military, an apparent operative in the terror group can be heard speaking to a Gazan man, saying he “can leave with any ambulance” he wants.

The Gazan man offers to send him an ambulance if he wants one, to which the Hamas operative assures him that “there are ambulances that go and come back. I can go with any ambulance.”

 

Interesting here. I couldn’t tell how effective these were but I’m very suspicious when they stop the footage right at the explosion without showing the aftermath

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/thous...ridor-to-move-south-as-idf-presses-offensive/

 

The U.S. has bombed Syria to destroy a weapons depot used by Iran's Revolutionary Guard as part of the war in Israel. That seems like about two countries too many for one military action. The U.S. attacked with a pair of F-15's.

Iran is not going to like this. They prefer full immunity when they send their people to other countries to commit murder and mayhem.

US launches airstrike on site in Syria in response to attacks by Iranian-backed militias (yahoo.com)

 

Yep. The one's with the red arrows were the one's covered in the show I was talking about. I tried to embed it in my previous post, but I don't think GC software liked it because it was once a live video. Also, you can see the warhead on the RPGs, which the host described as 2-stage, designed to try and defeat certain types of armor.

 

That sounds like the story line of Top Gun Maverick.

 

Forgive me if I don't feel quite as bad for Palestinian people dying as opposed to Israeli people dying. Crap like this is common. That is the issue. They are raised from children to want to kill Jews.

 

Second time we have hit that or a similar depot. Last one had no deterrence effect, although it appeared we only targeted a weapons storage facility. Syrians reported yesterday that 18 proxy operatives killed along with weapons. They have attacked US troops and there have been injuries, but the severity of injuries is unclear. They could attack with greater capability to cause injury or death. We’ll see

 

15 > 0

 

We are all shocked.

 

So you think this is ok? That says all I need to know about you.

 

No, I don’t think it’s ok that you feel Palestinian lives are worth less. But at least you are being honest. And it says all we need to know about you.