Galit Carbone confirmed dead; Gaza hostages’ fate remains unknown; Kfar Aza attack kills families

Israeli troops are massing for what’s widely seen as all but inevitable: a ground invasion of Gaza.

The public and the national security establishment in Israel are demanding retribution for the attacks by Hamas terrorists that claimed more than 1000 Israeli lives over the weekend. But a ground invasion would be complicated by Gaza’s dense population, its complex underground network of tunnels and the danger it would pose to Israelis, Americans and others being held hostage.

“The problem is that it’s basically house-to-house fighting once you get into Gaza. And so it could be a heavy price,” former US Defence secretary and CIA director Leon Panetta said .

“But on the other hand, I think it’s very clear that Israel has made the decision that they have got to crush Hamas in Gaza.”

An invasion would bring heavy casualties on both sides and questions about whether Israel can devise an exit strategy for the conflict. It would also create ripple effects through the Middle East, endangering Israel’s fragile rapprochement with its Arab neighbours and increasing the risks that the conflict spirals into a broader regional war.

What follows an invasion, a US official said, may resemble the 2004 battle for Fallujah in Iraq, which involved bloody street-to-street fighting. Resistance in Gaza may be formidable, especially if neighbouring countries provide reinforcements, according to the official, who discussed the sensitive matter on condition of anonymity.

Israel hasn’t announced that it will send troops into Gaza, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised that “what we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations”.

Bloomberg