The Israel Defense Forces have been fighting in Beit Hanoun in recent weeks. The Nahal Brigade and 401st Armored Brigade have both been fighting in the town. Beit Hanoun is near Sderot and it is a key area in northern Gaza where Hamas and other terror groups have carried out rocket fire over the last two decades.
It has also served as a staging ground for other types of attacks. The IDF set its sights on clearing it of terrorists over the last month. This is not the first time it has been cleared. The Beit Hanoun problem is symbolic of the wider challenge in Gaza.
The IDF has suffered losses in this area over the last month. This shows how even when Hamas appears to be defeated, it continues to carry out attacks. The IDF has said that the Nahal Brigade, for instance, has had to engage in close-quarters fighting and also conduct searches in the area to dismantle terrorist infrastructure. In addition the troops have found RPG launchers and weapons.
Another threat is booby-trapped buildings. This has become increasing deadly in northern Gaza. The enemy may not be able to organize large scale attacks, but Hamas has shifted over the last half year to using improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. This is a method that terrorists have used in the region.
For instance, in Iraq the insurgency against the US was often centered around the use of IEDs. The terrorists know all they have to do is wait and time is on their side. They rig buildings with traps and they wait. They don’t need to fight a conventional war. They assume the IDF will clear the area and leave. Their goal is attrition.
The battles to rid Beit Hanoun of terrorists has pulled in a number of troops. For instance on December 22 the IDF noted that the Kfir Brigade had moved into operations west of Beit Hanoun. This means at least three IDF brigades, under the 162nd division were involved in operations in this area. It’s not that large area and the fact that so many unit had to be tied down since mid-December to mid-January fighting terrorists in this one town illustrates the wider problem of defeating Hamas in Gaza.
For instance, the IDF began a division-level operation in Jabaliya in early October. That battle has now stretched on for three months. When the Jabaliya operation began it was at least the third time the IDF had fought there since ground battles began in Gaza in October 2023, following the Hamas attack on Israel. The IDF decided to fully clear Jabaliya this time. Around 70,000 civilians were still in the are and had to evacuate south to an area under Hamas control.
This is how the Gaza war has been waged, moving civilians from one area of Hamas control to another. This enables Hamas to control Gaza and the civilians and recruit them for further missions. Thousands of Hamas members and other suspected terrorists were uncovered in Jabaliya. Thousands in this one area.
Jabaliya is centered around a historic refugee camp and it has been a center of Palestinian activism for decades. This is one reason so many suspected terrorists were found in this area. Historically the refugee camps of Gaza were centers of Hamas and other terrorist activity.
Now Jabaliya is mostly in ruins and most of the terrorists are apparently gone.
Hamas yet to be defeated
However, more terrorist threats have popped up in Beit Hanoun. One would have assumed that Beit Hanoun, close to the Israeli border and accessed by roads from Jabaliya, would have been cut off and that its terrorist cells would already have been defeated. However, the first two weeks of January have shown that this is not the case. IDF soldiers have died in IED attacks and other types of explosions. This is taking a heavy toll. It is not easy going.
The lesson here is that Hamas is not defeated yet. It continues to control Gaza city and central Gaza and also parts of Khan Younis. It controls all the civilians of Gaza and is recruiting among them. Hamas doesn’t need to recruit that many people to stay in power. It just needs to recruit a small percent of young men who are coming of age. Gaza’s population is young so there are many potential recruits. All Hamas has to do is find two or three young men out of every hundred and it can replace its losses.
Hamas controls key refugee camps in central Gaza. This includes Nuseirat, Bureij, Deir al-Balah and Maghazi. Each of these may be as tough a fight as Jabaliya. Beit Hanoun has proven to be more costly than it should have been. Hamas and other terror groups have found a way to survive and Beit Hanoun is an example of the challenge.