Amid a looming threat of a full-scale ground assault from Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza Strip in their bid to destroy Hamas, an Indian military veteran has cautioned the Mediterranean nation against a prolonged war in the highly congested region because he believes it could turn into its "Vietnam moment".
The comments of Group captain Uttam Kumar Devnath, a retired Indian Air Force (IAF) officer, came hours after Israel conducted preemptive air strikes on Lebanon-based militant organization Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, on its northern border.
Tel Aviv Caught Off Guard by Palestinian Military Movement
Hostilities in the Middle East escalated after Hamas carried out the surprise attack in Israel's history on October 7.
On a day when Israelis were celebrating the Jewish festival of Sabbath, the elite brigades of the Islamic hardline group, that has ruled Gaza since 2006, made a surprise land-sea-air incursion into Israel, killing over 1,400 of its citizens and taking approximately 200 hostage.
Since then Israel has dropped hundreds of bombs on the Gaza Strip, leaving nearly 3,000 Palestinians dead. In addition to that the Israeli Army claimed that it killed more than 1,500 Hamas militants as part of their action following the militant group's attack on the West Asian nation.
Nonetheless, Israel's political leadership, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has vowed to wipe out Hamas, including its military command centers and its leadership to usher in a new era in the Middle East through a ground offensive.
Hamas' Tunnel Network - Israel's Biggest Challenge
But many military watchers, including independent ones from the US, have alerted them of the dangers associated with such an operation, given the vast network of underground tunnels Hamas has built beneath Gaza.
As per some reports, Hamas' tunnel network in Gaza spans over 500 kilometers, through which they can inflict heavy casualties on the Israeli forces.
Previous videos of Hamas' elaborate tunnel network available on the internet showed that there is enough space available to stockpile weapons there.
Against this backdrop, defense experts have underlined the threat these tunnels pose to Israel's military.
According to them, Hamas militants could use the vast tunnel network to its advantage in a manner that they could just lay booby traps to "strike, hide and escape" from Israeli soldiers.
Guerilla Warfare - Hamas' Only Chance to Inflict Large-Scale Casualties on IDF
"Hamas knows that it cannot withstand an attack from Israeli forces in open combat. Hence, Hamas is prepared for what is called guerilla warfare as they do not have the kind of weapons that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has like tanks, artillery guns and armored vehicles," Devnath told Sputnik India on Tuesday.
Devnath stressed that in the last two decades, Hamas has created a large spectrum of underground tunnels and these tunnels are interconnected.
The ex-IAF officer stated that Hamas fighters can come out from these tunnels, fire at Israeli troops, and go back to hide in the tunnels. If required, they can come out from the other side of the tunnels, thereby saving them from Israeli firepower while surprising the IDF at the same time.
Devnath pointed out that Hamas commanders feel that if they fight a "hide and seek" guerilla war from tunnels against the IDF, they will keep the IDF busy for a long time to come.
Hamas Planning a 'Vietnam' in Gaza
"Remember in the war between the US and Vietnam, the Vietnamese made a large number of tunnels beneath Vietnam's soil and were able to outfox and deceive US forces for a long struggle. Hamas is expecting to fight a similar battle in Gaza from these hidden tunnels," he added.
Devnath emphasized that the layout of these tunnels is only known to Hamas fighters. Hence they are in a position to surprise the IDF by quickly coming out and going back in these tunnels. For instance, they could just vanish from under a hospital or a residential building.
However, the Indian military pundit suggested that the US would not want Israel to continue a long combat operation in Gaza as its main priority at the moment is Ukraine.
A Long Israel-Hamas Conflict Not in the Interest of the US
"The scale of Israel's ground assault in Gaza would depend on the US as Washington would want Tel Aviv to quickly eliminate Hamas because it would want to concentrate on Ukraine," Devnath opined.
He argued that there was a genuine possibility of the IDF taking a long time to clear Hamas from Gaza.
"Considering Israel's fighting capabilities are limited due to lack of manpower and given that its stocks of weapons are also not as large as other military powers, Tel Aviv may soon have to import arms and ammunition from the US, which the White House may want to avoid because of its focus on Ukraine," Devnath concluded.