What is the background to the warlord ‘Hamas’ subduing the elite Israeli army?

At the same time as the start of the war, 2,000 rockets were fired to neutralize ‘Iron Dome’ and the Merkava was defeated with a new anti-tank weapon.

Until now, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has been a symbol of a strong military comparable to the U.S. military. Israel is a country that established itself after a struggle with neighboring Arab countries. Because of the large and small conflicts that occur on a daily basis, the Israeli army had no choice but to become an elite army. However, on October 7 (local time), an incident occurred in which Hamas, a Palestinian warlord, overwhelmed the Israeli army. Hamas’ attack, which began in the Gaza Strip, quickly struck cities and villages, as well as military bases, in southern Israel. They destroyed and even captured a large number of the cutting-edge armored equipment that the Israeli military boasted. On October 7th, Hamas defeated the Israeli army, advancing over 25 km in one day. Although the Israeli army, which had reorganized its battle lines, launched a counterattack with fearsome momentum, attention is focused on the reason why Hamas’ surprise attack at the beginning of the war was successful.

Hamas is an organization and political party established by the Palestinian branch of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood during the First Intifada (anti-Israel movement) in 1987. Among the various political factions in Palestine, along with ‘Islamic Jihad’, they took an extreme line of violence. There are many analyzes as to why Hamas started this war, but it is easy to understand if you think of North Korea. North Korea is shifting all responsibility for the three hereditary dictatorships and severe economic difficulties to the US imperialists and South Korea. The same goes for Hamas. The Gaza Strip, Hamas’s stronghold, has no significant resources and its infrastructure is underdeveloped. The population of the Gaza Strip, which is slightly larger than Sejong City, is about 2 million, and most of them survive by relying on humanitarian aid from Israel, the United Nations, and the European Union (EU) and behind-the-scenes support from neighboring Arab countries.

The problem is that Hamas, which effectively rules the Gaza Strip, controls most of the resources and misuses them to make or purchase illegal weapons. With the weapons they have in their hands, they are committing barbaric terrorism under the name of the ‘independence movement’. Initially, there were many Palestinian residents who felt excited and sympathized with Hamas’ violent struggle. However, as Hamas attacked innocent civilians, even women, children, and the elderly, its approval rating continued to decline. As Hamas’s violent struggle intensified, the international community’s support decreased and Israel’s oppression became stronger, making the lives of Gaza residents more devastated.

Hamas, which was losing ground in the Gaza Strip, needed special measures to maintain its power. At that time, tensions escalated between April and May due to the conflict between Israel and Palestine over the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, an Islamic holy site. Israel’s extreme internal strife surrounding the so-called ‘judicial reform’ led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have been seen as an opportunity by Hamas. Meanwhile, Hezbollah, a Lebanese Islamic militant group, was behind Hamas, and Hezbollah was receiving enormous support from Iran, a Shia suzerain state. Hamas seems to have caused this incident because it believed that if it inflicted a fatal blow on Israel, its ‘backbone’ would fight alongside it. However, on the first day of the invasion, Hamas committed too many terrible crimes that even those on the same side could not turn a blind eye to. In addition, he even committed a bizarre act by filming the crime scene with his own hands and posting it on social networking services (SNS). Now, Hamas is being pushed into the worst situation where its very basis for existence, let alone maintaining its power, is disappearing.

At the beginning of the war, Hamas showed that even a single warlord could deal a fatal blow to a military powerhouse like Israel if he was determined and prepared. The ‘Al-Aqsa Flood Operation’ carried out by Hamas this time was incredibly meticulous. Hamas simultaneously fired preparatory fire against key targets in Israel and then carried out a three-dimensional mobile war encompassing land, sea, and air along seven axes. Of course, Hamas’ mobile warfare was more of a one-off attack, but it was extremely fatal to Israel, which has a small land area. As a result, Israel suffered hundreds of casualties and over 100 abductees within hours of the outbreak of war.

In particular, this rocket offensive was larger than any attack carried out by Hamas so far. There is conflicting analysis of how many rockets Hamas launched, but it appears that about 2,200 rockets were launched almost simultaneously at 6:30 a.m. on October 7, when the attack began. On this day, as many as 4,000 and as many as 7,000 various projectiles were launched throughout Israel. The projectiles fired by Hamas were a mixture of all kinds, including rocket bombs called ‘Qassam rockets’, decoy bombs with fake warheads, mortar shells, and grenades. These rockets struck various parts of Israel, killing Israeli soldiers and citizens who were sleeping in the early morning of the Sabbath.

What is especially noteworthy is that Israel’s air defense network ‘Iron Dome’, which had boasted of being invincible, was neutralized. Iron Dome has shown an average interception success rate of over 90% in rocket attacks by Islamic terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. As its name suggests, it has gained fame as the ‘steel roof’ of the Israeli sky. Hamas learned a lesson from several failed rocket attacks and this time used the tactic of launching large quantities of real rockets mixed with ‘bait’. Israel’s skies were breached by an offensive attack that far exceeded Iron Dome’s maximum defense capacity.

Israel’s air defense weapon system ‘Iron Dome’. [뉴시스]

Currently, 10 batteries of Iron Dome are deployed in Israel. The Iron Dome battery consists of three to four launch vehicles containing 20 ‘Tamir’ interceptor missiles, one operational control center, and one EL/M-2084 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for fire control. Here’s how Iron Dome works: First, when an enemy fires a rocket or shell, the radar detects it and calculates the expected fall course. If a residential or military facility is expected to be attacked, enemy rockets are designated as targets and distributed to each launcher. Missiles launched toward the target set by the operation control center fly using infrared guidance. In theory, one Iron Dome battery can intercept 60 to 80 targets simultaneously. This means that 10 batteries of Iron Domes can block up to 800 various projectiles at once. However, the number of rockets Hamas fired simultaneously in the early morning of October 7 was three times greater than Israel’s Iron Dome interception capability. Since not all Iron Domes were deployed near the Gaza Strip, it can be said that southern Israel received attacks four to five times its air defense capacity.

This Hamas attack also exposed the vulnerability of Israeli armored vehicles. Israel’s new tanks and armored vehicles, which were said to boast the world’s strongest durability, were brutally destroyed by RPG-7. The appearance of the Israeli armored forces in the video released by Hamas as propaganda was gruesome. The armor plates of the Merkava Mk. After being hit, Hamas members rushed at the disabled tanks and armored vehicles like bees, dragged out the wounded Israeli soldiers, and then brutally killed them. This scene was broadcast live around the world through social media.

The Israeli army’s new tanks and armored vehicles are equipped with an active defense device called ‘Trophy’. The Trophy system detects anti-tank missiles or rockets with radar and defends with interceptors to prevent the vehicle body from being hit. However, the trophy system of the Merkava Mk.IV tank and Namer armored vehicle that were destroyed this time did not work properly. It is highly probable that the Trophy system’s interceptor bombs were not loaded when the garrison was attacked by surprise. However, even if the trophy system is not activated, these armored vehicles are equipped with their own armor plates that are sufficient to block the anti-tank weapon RPG-7. Hamas appears to have used a new rocket called RPG-7VR to pierce the armor of an Israeli armored vehicle. Unlike the RPG-7, which can penetrate armor plates up to 300 to 350 mm thick, the new RPG-7VR has a penetration power of 750 mm thanks to its dual warhead structure. Merkava and Namer, which were hit, were hit on the side or rear of the engine room, which were vulnerable areas, and as a result, they lost their combat power and were incapacitated.

Israeli Merkava tank destroyed by Hamas attack. [뉴시스]

It is highly likely that this conflict, which began as a provocation by Hamas, ultimately resulted in Israel’s victory. However, the tragedy suffered by Israel at the beginning of the war offers several lessons to Korea. First of all, Hamas’ rocket offensive clearly showed how lethal rocket weapons launched in large quantities were at the beginning of the war. However, there is something to pay attention to here. The Israeli Iron Dome was not only a heavy overkill, but also showed an interception rate of over 90% in this conflict. Hamas’ carefully planned surprise attack exposed loopholes in the air defense network, but Iron Dome has no problems as a weapon system.

The problem is South Korea’s air defense network, which will be exposed to North Korea’s large-scale missile and long-range artillery attacks in the event of an emergency. Instead of the Iron Dome, the Ministry of National Defense plans to develop its own expensive Korean version of the Iron Dome, which is inferior in range, interception altitude, and simultaneous engagement capability, and deploy it 10 years later. If the 3 trillion won allocated for the Korean Iron Dome project is used to purchase the Iron Dome, 37 Iron Dome batteries with 4 launchers can be purchased based on the Israeli military procurement price. Assuming the simultaneous engagement capability of each battery is 80, this is enough to block 2,960 rockets and long-range artillery shells flying at the same time. Iron Dome’s Tamir interceptor missile is a ‘fire-and-forget’ method that is guided automatically by simply specifying a target using the fire control radar. By increasing the data processing capacity of the operational control center and the number of launchers, simultaneous response capabilities can be strengthened. Nevertheless, our military authorities have decided to develop it on their own because ‘local production’ is more important than the lives and safety of the people, and they say they will only deploy it 10 years later. I don’t know where the ‘Fight Tonight’ (constant combat readiness) spirit that the military shouts out whenever North Korea escalates military tensions has gone.

We must also take this opportunity to check the defense capabilities of the Korean military’s armored vehicles. North Korea also possesses a large number of anti-tank weapons with a dual warhead structure, such as the RPG-7VR used by Hamas this time. The South Korean armored equipment, which has much lower defense capabilities than the Israeli army, can be destroyed like a piece of paper by the North Korean army’s old anti-tank weapons, even if it is not a dual warhead version. The Korean army’s K1 series tanks and K2 tanks, which are lighter and have thinner armor than Western tanks of the same class, cannot block the RPG-7 from any direction except the front of the hull and turret. During the development of the K2 tank, active defense devices such as Trophy were also developed. However, our military postponed its introduction due to the price of 1 billion won per set and the lack of doctrine and tactics suitable for active defense devices.

Israel’s struggle should be a lesson for the Korean military as well

The protection of Korean military armored vehicles is at a more serious level. Recently introduced infantry transport armored vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles are equipped with composite/increased armor and active defense devices to protect occupants from RPG-7, anti-tank mines, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). On the other hand, the Korean military’s current main armored vehicle, the K200, is made of aluminum alloy and is impervious to RPG-7 as well as heavy machine gun bullets. Even the latest armored vehicles, K808 and K806, can be suppressed by North Korea’s anti-tank weapons or heavy weapons. Even the K21 infantry fighting vehicle, which has relatively thick armor, has weak defense capabilities due to the requirement that it must cross the river under its own power. One RPG-7 rocket costs about $100, and North Korea deploys RPG-7s in all infantry squads. With 9 or 12 people aboard a South Korean armored vehicle, North Korea can subdue one South Korean military squad for just $100.

The Korean military should also pay attention to the difficulties Israel experienced at the beginning of the war due to Hamas’ surprise attack. If we ignore reality by saying that the security situations in the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula are different, in the event of an emergency, the Korean military will suffer a tragedy several times more terrible than what the Israeli military suffered this time.

Source: Donga

Mark

Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.