On overreliance – Harel:

‘At the start of the second week of the war in the Gaza Strip, Israel’s preparations for an offensive shift into higher gear. After stabilizing its control of the border area in the wake of the massacres by Hamas that followed the organization’s surprise attack October 7, the Israel Defense Forces is trying to evacuate most of the Palestinian civilian population from the northern part of the Strip.
From Lebanon, meanwhile, Hezbollah continues to attack a few times a day, in a bid to increase tensions and deter Israel from a ground invasion of Gaza. At the same time, the United States is accelerating its military aid shipments to the IDF while also attempting to deter Hezbollah and Iran from more significant involvement into the conflict.’

(…)

‘longside the United States and Britain, the European Union initiated a solidarity visit. Significant parts of public opinion in Western states was shocked by the events, despite demonstrations of solidarity with Hamas in some European cities.

For the first time, there is willingness to listen to Israel’s claim that Hamas’ acts are tantamount to those of the Islamic State organization, which left a deep impression in the West in the previous decade. The Americans, it may be recalled, handled Daesh very aggressively in eastern Syria and northern Iraq. The West is unlikely to give Israel carte blanche indefinitely, but when a network like CNN documents the atrocities in kibbutz homes and the rave up-close it carries significant diplomatic weight.
The hasbara effort is being led by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit and independent civilian ad-hoc organizations in which thousands of Israelis take part. The government, as usual, is entirely absent from the picture, and the only ray of light in its conduct is the resignation Thursday of Public Diplomacy Minister Galit Distel Atbaryan. The poison machine serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the other hand, is working full throttle, targeting the Israeli generals and leftists is says are aiding the enemy.’ (…)

‘There are two countries where the ground is beginning to shake: Egypt and Jordan. Cairo fears the Gaza problem turning up on its doorstep – Israel’s suspension of power, water and gas sets Egyptian-Gazan relations back to pre-1967 – as well as mass protests of the kind held in Jordan Friday, organized by the Muslim Brotherhood.
The West Bank is also on fire, with nearly 50 Palestinians killed last week by soldiers or settlers. Far-right activists are raiding Palestinian communities and shooting residents. The army and the Shin Bet security service are slow to respond despite the danger, which increases further in regard to Jerusalem in general and the Temple Mount in particular.’

(…)

‘According to international aid agencies, the infrastructure in the southern Strip cannot handle a doubling in population, and currently necessities cannot be brought in. Egypt will likely try to keep refugees from crossing into its territory. The result will be the erection of crowded tent encampments on the beach, awaiting aid.’

(…)

‘Assuming that Hamas has been preparing for this confrontation for years, the question is whether the iDF won’t be walking into a trap – and whether Hezbollah won’t react to a ground incursion in the south by opening a new front in the north.’

(…)

‘The most important variable in this equation is the move by U.S. President Joe Biden, who not only announced an airlift of parts and weapons to Israel and not only dispatched an aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean (soon to be joined by another), but seems willing to deploy hundreds of fighter jets in Lebanon to defend Israel. It will happen along with the IDF, should Hezbollah err in trying to exploit the opportunity.’

(…)

‘The war could result in regional realignments. Washington is trying to maintain the axis it heads and not destroy Israel’s relations with Egypt, Jordan and the Persian Gulf states. With Biden supporting Israel like this, he allows himself the ability to restrain and influence the nature and theaters of its operation. It seems that the U.S. prefers for Israel to focus on Gaza and not drag it into a regional war with Iran.’

(…)

‘ And still, it is clear to the General Staff that over time this will require a massive change in military culture, including ending the overreliance on technology and also to the presumption of knowing what is in the enemy’s head.’

(…)

‘“We turned the IDF into a digital peace army,” one reserve officer on one front said. “We abandoned the Gaza border area residents to the high-tech nation, and forgot that this is the Middle East.” This matter, too, will require a big change here. But first, Israel has to deal with the war itself.’

Read the article here.

Despite everything that happened ‘the poison machine serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’ is still working. Remarkable.

The preparedness of the army has been discussed in many articles before, bit seems to be a larger problem than many thought. (‘Trust has been compromised for more prosaic reasons as well, such as the prevalent equipment shortages and malfunctions, revealed when you call up close to 350,000 reservists in one week.’)

Overreliance on technology and the IDF as a ‘a digital peace army’ might sound strange to some in the West, but the conclusion is rather damnig and many chiefs of staff in other countries will pay attention.

The war in Ukraine changed a few military beliefs, what happened in Israel and Gaza, and what’s still is happening there, will change some doctrines as well.
Technology turned out to be another God that failed, but maybe this God will also have a second coming.