Moses’ Staff faces Gideon-2 vehicles

By Rassem Obeidat

After the “Gideon Vehicles 1” units fell apart in front of the “Stones of David” and failed to achieve their military and security objectives of eliminating the resistance or recovering the captives, the failure of that operation — according to a secret army report, parts of which were published by Channel 12 — was attributed to a focus on avoiding casualties at the expense of mission accomplishment, as well as low fighting morale, worn-out equipment and a shortage of personnel.

What applies to “Gideon Vehicles 1” also applies to “Gideon Vehicles 2”, which will face the “Moses’ Rod” that Moses put in front of Pharaoh’s magicians and priests — it appeared to them like a snake and they fled from it. So too “Gideon Vehicles 2”: the army began its operation in the al-Zaytoun (Zaytoun) neighborhood, and the neighborhood delivered its response through precise operations and ambushes, leaving dead and wounded among the occupation army, in addition to destroying many of its vehicles and tanks.

Operations of “Gideon Vehicles 2” are being conducted amid a shortage of personnel, due to reservists refusing to report for duty and the ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) refusing to be drafted. The number originally planned to be conscripted for this criminal war fell from 200,000 to 100,000, then to 60,000, then to 30,000; the remaining 30,000 were assigned to the air force, navy and administrative centers.

The timeframe for decisive victory and achieving objectives was also shortened — from a year and a half to months, then to several weeks — at Trump’s request, because the operation had caused global losses for Israel and threatened internal collapse.

This wide military operation is being — or will be — fought by untrained soldiers and inexperienced reservists, not to mention the wear and decline in morale in the occupation army, and their conviction that this war has no horizon and serves only the political and personal interests of Netanyahu and his government. Therefore, it is expected that “Gideon Vehicles 2” will collapse before the “Moses’ Rod”, since the land fights with its people with high morale and the legendary steadfastness of the people of Gaza.

We should not overlook that the global revolt against the crimes of the occupation army and the massacre of starvation and siege has begun to knock on the doors of government offices in states supporting the occupation. The “Global Steadfastness Fleet”, composed of hundreds of ships and boats and more than 5,000 international supporters, is preparing to sail to Gaza to break the siege. This will accumulate losses for the occupying state in diplomatic, political, commercial and economic terms, impede its resupply with weapons, and undermine Israel’s narrative that deploys the “Holocaust” and the charge of “anti-Semitism” against anyone who criticizes its “sacred cow” or calls for sanctions for violating international and humanitarian law and for committing war crimes and genocide — as international institutions and all countries in the world have asserted, except the United States, the direct partner in this aggressive war.

Former head of Israel’s National Security Council, Giora Eiland, told Channel 12 on Thursday that “the costs of the operation in Gaza are very clear.” He pointed out that these “five costs” are: the deaths of captives, the killing and wounding of many soldiers, the exhaustion of the reserve forces, rising economic costs, and the deterioration of Israel’s international relations.

He wondered why no one had explained: “How can the operation in Gaza achieve what has not been achieved over the past 23 months?” He added: “After 23 months, it is clear we have not achieved the war’s objectives, and the cabinet itself should ask why we did not achieve the war’s goals.”

In this context, Israeli security officials (the army, Shin Bet, Mossad and military intelligence) are united in rejecting a military operation in Gaza City and favor a partial prisoner-exchange agreement, seeing a wide attack on Gaza as unnecessary and futile. For the first time, ministers from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s own Likud party joined the opposition. According to leaks to Haaretz from security sources, security officials at a cabinet session were “surprised” by ministers such as Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel, Regional Cooperation Minister David Amsalem, and even Justice Minister Yariv Levin, all of whom questioned the value of an assault on Gaza.

Minister Amsalem warned that Gaza could become “Israel’s Vietnam,” while Sa’ar warned of the deterioration of Israel’s international standing. At the same level, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir’s warning was clear and direct when he said: “You are heading toward military rule. Your special planning is leading us there.”

What does this indicate?

This rejection by senior Israeli security officials and Likud ministers of a large-scale military operation in Gaza indicates a deep split and serious fears within Israel’s own institutions about the feasibility, risks and expected repercussions.

In this military operation many Israelis will be killed, including children and women, and the scale of destruction will increase, turning the Gaza Strip into an uninhabitable area: 88% of its homes have been destroyed, and its infrastructure, hospitals and health centers are out of service. But Israel will also suffer great losses, as the lives of the martyrs become the fuel of protests, and the boats sailing toward the coasts of Palestine become symbols. The outcome of the war will be decided on a battlefield the Israelis are likely to lose despite all the technological strength at their disposal, while the Palestinians fight with their faith and sufficient reasons to write a new chapter in the wars of freedom.