Turning Point

It's the middle of summer here in what's usually known as the bubble of Tel Aviv, a time normally reserved for the beach and non-stop parties that go deep into the night. Instead, a war is still raging, and despite a brief respite from rocket fire, more so than ever. Today was not only the deadliest day so far in the nearly two weeks of fighting between Israel and Hamas, but among the most violent in over a decade. At this point, from the Israeli perspective, the rules of the game are seemingly going to have to change. It's clear by their actions that Hamas has no intention of giving up the fight without having their demands met. Demands that are deemed completely unacceptable to Israel in light of Hamas' unwillingness to moderate and relent from the path of violence. For the IDF, this is no longer just a contained operation restricted to combating the labyrinth of underground tunnels in Gaza, but a broader campaign now aimed at severely crippling Hamas with a focus on destroying their military capability entirely.

Smoke rises from the Shuja'iya neighborhood in Gaza. Haaretz

More so, IDF soldiers operating on the ground are currently being pulled into exactly the type of conflict that Hamas has wanted all along. While the current focus of IDF forces on the ground up until today has mostly been limited to the dismantlement of underground tunnels used for smuggling weapons and launching attacks on Israel, the heavy fighting in the densely populated Shuja'iya neighborhood on the eastern edge of Gaza City today seems to have been a turning point in this conflict. The devastation on both sides is a clear indicator of just how much the scope of operations are being expanded. Shuja'iya is significant for many reasons as well. As a Hamas stronghold for launching rocket attacks against Israel, it is considered as close to an impregnable fortress in Gaza that exists for Hamas. One Israeli officer described it as an "underground city" consisting of a maze of tunnels in all directions that are utilized strictly for the purpose of Hamas military operations. Additionally, this district of Gaza City is known to be an area staffed by a highly competent battalion of Hamas fighters who are responsible for putting up heavy resistance in the same area during Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009. It is not surprising therefore that they're proving to be formidable foes once again. At the same time, IDF soldiers on the ground have already made their presence felt handily by effectively beginning to disrupt the terror infrastructure that is in place in Gaza. This includes having neutralized over 100 Hamas fighters and the subsequent discovery of tens of underground tunnels since the beginning of this current ground campaign.

The overall direction of this Operation Protective Edge is still up in the air, but may soon now be changing fast. By inflicting heavy casualties on IDF soldiers today, Hamas has now "achieved" the type of operational success they've been looking for since day one. It is impossible for the leaders of the Israeli government and the IDF to allow these achievements to stand.

However, the question is now, just how far will the IDF go in terms of crippling Hamas? It is an open ended question that may determine the path of this conflict entirely.

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. Dover Tzahal