Even abroad, Hamas poses a danger that must be obliterated
Meir Ben Shabbat reminds everybody that even overseas, the Hamas poses a serious danger, not just to Jews, but also many other "infidels":
Another grave danger posed by Hamas, is that, as military expert John Spencer warns, the tactics practiced by Hamas could also lead to more tunnels being built in other countries, along with more terrorist acts:
The challenge facing Israel is a function of time constraints. To achieve the goals under current conditions, the IDF will have to act methodically for a protracted period. However, time is critical when it comes to the abductees. Assuming it is not possible to influence the intensity of the fighting or renew the blockade of Gaza, the political-security leadership is faced with the question of how to increase pressure on Hamas and shorten this timeframe.What Israeli law enforcement must do is take up a mission similar to what Golda Meir did following the Munich Olympics massacre, and eliminate as many of the overseas terrorists as possible, and get overseas law enforcement to arrest others. Only that way will it be possible to decrease the bad influence of Hamas as best as possible.
Among the options, it seems that systematically targeting Hamas leaders residing abroad, alongside continued fighting in Gaza, would serve Israel well in advancing this regard and help achieve additional goals.
Such action would clarify to the organization's leaders that there is a price to their dithering. Moreover, such activity would help disrupt Hamas' ability to govern and coordinate between its different wings, thus frustrating its attempt to reassert its control over the Gaz Strip
Without an effective command center abroad, after it suffers devastating damage to its military and governing capabilities in Gaza, and following the decimation of its infrastructure in the West Bank, Hamas may lose its status as a movement with regional influence, even if it continues to wield local influence as an organization on the run. Israel and its neighbors have a shared interest in seeing this through. The US should pursue this goal as part of its efforts to shape a new regional order.
While Hamas leaders in Gaza live underground and their voices are not heard, Hamas' Political Bureau members abroad are presenting the movement's policies and promoting its interests. They are replacing the hiding leadership in media appearances, on social networks, at conventions, and in policy discussions.
Their activity does not end there: They participate in policy formulation and advocacy and are responsible for raising political support and resources necessary to build the organization's capabilities and operations in different areas. Some fulfill operational roles – from regional coordination for terrorism purposes to directing specific activities in various arenas. Saleh al-Arouri, who was recently assassinated, was one of those. He was a known figure in the public discourse, but there are more like him.
Khaled Mashaal, Ismail Haniyeh, Mousa Abu Marzook, Basem Na'im, Sami Abu Zuhri, Izzat Rishq, Osama Hamdan and Zaher Jabarin are among them
The Hamas overseas command's activity is a force multiplier for Hamas, and it has a critical contribution to the organization's regional influence, especially given the difficult conditions limiting its activity from the Gaza Strip or the West Bank.
The key role this command plays, as well as its efforts to drag Israel into a multi-arena regional war, make it incumbent upon Israel to take determined and methodical action against it until it is fully neutralized – especially after the monstrous massacre on October 7 it was so proud of, and after the unambiguous wording Mashaal provided regarding Hamas' absolute commitment to destroying the State of Israel (from the river to the sea, from Rosh Hanikra to Eilat).
Another grave danger posed by Hamas, is that, as military expert John Spencer warns, the tactics practiced by Hamas could also lead to more tunnels being built in other countries, along with more terrorist acts:
If Hamas survives the current war with Israel, then “they’ve won,” according to retired United States Army Major and urban and subterranean warfare expert John Spencer, who slammed the terror group’s use of “human sacrifice” tactics and warned that if Israel did not completely dismantle the organization then “massive genocidal attacks” and the taking of civilian hostages would be replicated by terrorists across the globe.Read more, along with how Hamas makes use of "human sacrifice" of regular Arabs/Moslems in Gaza for undermining Israel's war efforts. Spencer is absolutely correct that tunnel warfare is dangerous when it's enemy building them.
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Spencer, a world-renowned expert on urban combat who serves as chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point, noted how Israel’s past operations have primarily targeted the extensive tunnel networks of both Hamas and Hezbollah.
Hamas’ tunnel strategy
“We knew about the Hamas tunnel system. I’ve been in many replica Hamas and Hezbollah tunnels. Most of the previous operations against Hamas in Gaza have been about tunnels. Even the last flare up, the 2021 Operation Guardian of the Walls, Israel’s response was to strike at the tunnel complexes,” he stated.
However, he explained, the actual scope of the tunnel system Hamas built under Gaza has “always been an estimate.”
“Since Israel fully left Gaza [in 2005], though you could have an eye in the sky, but that doesn’t prevent Hamas from digging underground,” he said. “And that’s why people in war usually go underground, to conceal what you’re doing, and in support of your military protection in a defensive role.”
Spencer, a founding member of the International Working Group on Subterranean Warfare, noted that tunnels serve as key strategic tools in warfare, for both defense and offense, as seen in various conflicts.
“Like ISIS and everybody else, and even in Ukraine, there are tunnels everywhere,” he said, “but it’s really [built and utilized] in support of your strategy, whether it’s to defend or attack.”
“In war, you’re either defending or attacking,” he added. “So in Hamas’s case, they attacked on October 7 and then they went into defense [positions] and waited for that counterattack.”
He also highlighted how Hamas’ tunnel strategy is unique, in that it focuses on a long-term goal to destroy Israel rather than typical military objectives like defeating enemy forces or capturing territories.
“Unlike any other military operation in history, the tunnels [Hamas built] aren’t in support of the either enemy or terrain-based goal,” he said.
“Usually, in a war, you’re trying to defeat the enemy with a strategy to either destroy their [your opponents’] military or their attacking their capitals, and trying to seize the will [of your opponent] to stop fighting,” he added. “But Hamas has this longer strategy — their stated strategy is to destroy Israel and kill all the Jewish people.”
According to Spencer, Hamas employs extensive tunneling for lawfare and survival, aiming to undermine Israel’s military response and gain political power. The terrorist organization’s “game plan in mind” to achieve that, he claimed, is by “gaining time,” and includes the use of “hostage diplomacy.”
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