Violence in the Middle East is an unfortunate commonality – yet one that is so rarely understood in depth. Over the last several decades, tensions have simmered between the Palestinians and Israelis, culminating in several large-scale ground assaults in the Gaza Strip and other territories. In this article, we will explore what an Israeli ground assault in Gaza might look like – based on eyewitness accounts and firsthand experience from the one I saw.
To understand the severity of such a situation, one has to step back and take a look at the political tension between the Palestinians and Israelis. In 2014, Israel officially launched a ground assault against Gaza due to numerous rocket attacks from Hamas – a militant Islamic organization hell-bent on the destruction of Israel. This would become known as the Gaza War, also referred to as Operation Protective Edge, which lasted for 50 days and resulted in the deaths of more than 2,100 Palestinians.
The Israeli forces on the ground were well-prepared for the assault, as they had extensive experience in dealing with military offensives. Infantry units were deployed with tanks, armoured vehicles, and heavy artillery, ready to lay waste to any resistance they encountered. As a witness to the events, I vividly remember seeing rows of tanks slowly rolling up the sides of buildings, in preparation for the potential ground-level fighting. Meanwhile above in the sky, fighter jets screeched through the air, with Apache helicopters providing cover fire from above.
The Israeli forces made slow progress into the areas of the Gaza Strip, trading shots with the Hamas militants as they advanced. Smoke and fire filled the sky as bombs were dropped and artillery was fired. It was a chaotic and frightening scene – yet one that ultimately revealed the brute force of the Israeli military.
This was not the first, nor will it be the last time this cycle of violence is seen in the region. Yet it serves as a reminder of the seriousness of the situation in the Middle East, and a reminder that peaceful resolution is key to moving forward. Though the ground assault has ended, the underlying tension still remains – with both sides now needing to make a sustained effort to achieve a lasting peace.
