In October of 2023, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel that resulted in an estimated 1,400 deaths and 240 hostages. The attack featured more than 3,000 rockets, which provided cover for the terrorists to flood into southern Israel and begin slaughtering and kidnapping civilians.
Not surprisingly, the tragedy prompted Israel to declare war on Hamas and is being likened to Pearl Harbor and 9/11.
“[The attack was] extraordinary in its strategy, scale, and secrecy,” writes Kali Robinson, a Senior Writer for the Council on Foreign Relations.
“It is completely unprecedented that a terrorist organization would have the capacity or the wherewithal to mount coordinated, simultaneous assaults from the air, sea, and land,” adds CFR Senior Fellow Bruce Hoffman.
In the video linked below, United States Army Special Forces veteran Dovid Weiss provides a concise explanation of Hamas’s strategy. Following is a brief analysis by Tim Kaelin, former CIA agent and CEO of Impact Analytics.
Hamas and Israel are engaged in asymmetrical warfare, explains Weiss, which is a “type of war between belligerents whose relative military power, strategy, or tactics differs significantly. And as a result of this, the weaker opponent will use unconventional tactics in order to maximize one’s strengths against a stronger opponent’s weaknesses or vulnerabilities.”
The weaker group (in this case, Hamas) has fewer soldiers and fewer resources than its adversary and is forced to conserve as much as possible. Thus, a prolonged attack is only possible if the weaker opponent has a constant supply of resources and enough territory in which to hide and regroup. Hamas has neither of these things.
Instead of a direct attack against legitimate military targets, Hamas did something that would demand a stronger and more sustained response from the Israeli government. Hamas understood that Israel’s response would put Palestinian lives in danger, but took no action to evacuate its civilians.
“In this asymmetric environment, Hamas is not only incentivized to kill Israeli civilians; they are incentivized to maximize their own civilian casualties in the short run in order to elicit western intervention on their behalf,” continues Weiss. “Hamas understands that the real battlefield is not in Gaza, but in the streets, university halls, and newsrooms of the West. And so that is their target.”
This theory is demonstrated by the shift in public opinion that occurred (though not intentionally) when the Vietnam War’s Tet Offensive produced a swelling of anti-war sentiment in the United States.
Expanding on Weiss’s explanation of asymmetrical warfare is Joe Gilbertson’s commentary that China must have played a key role in the attack:
“Weiss’s video reinforces my own suspicions that China was the the instigator of this conflict, albeit with two layers of separation:
1) China has committed $400 billion to Iran for oil infrastructure. This is a major bond and of course we suspect the attacks were inspired by Iran.
2) China is known to have a multi-billion dollar propaganda apparatus with reach into American universities and others around the world. We already see that protesters have pushed the anti-Israel agenda to the hilt, which is something neither Iran nor Hamas could ever hope to do.”
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Hamas is an Islamist militant group and political party that has “governed” the Gaza Strip (one of two Palestinian territories located within Israel) since 2006. It is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. With support from Iran, Hamas seeks the destruction of Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian state. Its current military leader is Mohamed Deif.
Sources:
WATCH THIS: Dovid Weiss on Asymmetrical Warfare
Israel Agrees to Hostage Deal with Hamas
Israel’s Attackers Took About 240 Hostages. Here’s What to Know About Them.