For Israel, the real battle is only just beginning

Israel must steel itself over the coming weeks for more national trauma as the fighting against Hamas in Gaza intensifies and troops losses begin to mount. The country’s armed forces have already paid a high price, with 348 deaths since October 7^th. To give some context, this is almost twice as high as the number of British soldiers killed in eight years of fighting in Iraq. In a country with just a tenth of the population of the UK, the losses will be even more difficult to bear.

The break-in battle was always going to be the easiest part for the Israeli Defence Forces. The aerial bombardment, like a first world war artillery barrage, sent Hamas terrorists retreating into command bunkers buried many feet below ground. But the real battle – where the metal meets the meat, as the US troops might say – is only just beginning.

In the coming days and weeks the fighting will only become increasingly messy, with Israeli troops being picked off by snipers and targeted by Iranian-supplied improvised explosive devices, triggered by an infrared beam and capable of destroying a tank or armoured personnel.