They defeated Egypt in six days. Now they've been fighting Hamas for a month

During the 1967 conflict, known as the Six-Day War, Israel utilized three divisions to defeat Egypt. Presently, similar military forces have been operational in the Gaza Strip for nearly a month. The results of these actions vary due to the densely populated area and the anti-tank weaponry Hamas possesses - the "Washington Post" reported on Saturday, citing experts.

In June 1967, Israeli forces attacked Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. In a short span of six days, they captured the Sinai, West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.

However, the current situation presents a different battlefield. "Now it's a different war, a very difficult war. Hamas is prepared", evaluated Joshua Kaliski of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

On October 31, an anti-tank missile, launched by Palestinian fighters, hit an armored personnel carrier, resulting in the death of at least nine Israeli soldiers. Earlier, Israeli forces faced stones and Molotov cocktails during Palestinian uprisings. However, they now encounter laser-guided missiles and anti-tank ammunition, comments the "Washington Post".

"The weapons themselves are not new or surprising. The main surprise is the quantity", stated Michael Milsztein, an analyst from the Moshe Dayan Center at the University in Tel Aviv.

A vast quantity of weapons, supplied by Iran and even North Korea, have been smuggled into the Gaza Strip over the past decade. The transport occurred through tunnels, land crossings, and sea routes. Simple Al-Yasin grenade launchers were also assembled in underground factories in Gaza.

"It remains asymmetric warfare. Israel has one of the most technologically advanced and well-armed armies in the world. While today's Hamas brigades may possess specialized weaponry, they are significantly weaker", assessed the American newspaper.

Thus far, the propaganda division of Hamas has released recordings of approximately 20 attacks on Israeli tanks and armored vehicles. Although the films depict explosions, there is no definitive proof indicating any significant damage to these vehicles.

Israel developed the Trophy vehicle defense system, designed with a radar that tracks incoming ammunition and subsequently intercepts it using its own defense missiles. However, the system is less effective against missiles fired from close range.

The spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, Abu Obeida, asserted on Saturday that his organization's missiles have damaged 160 Israeli vehicles, although experts haven't been able to verify these claims.

The Israeli military currently engages in combat within the densely populated city of Gaza, a landscape interspersed with numerous underground tunnels.

'These tunnels can enable surprise attacks, undetected force movements, and storage of supplies and weapons. They present a significant challenge to conventional military operations, since they negate many technologically advanced aspects of modern armies. Combatting them requires specialized equipment and tactics' - argues the online magazine "Army Recognition" in their analysis of the situation in the Gaza Strip.

The analysis also states that "the dense and complex urban terrain of the Gaza Strip severely restricts the maneuverability of soldiers and armored vehicles. (...) The urban landscape interferes with radio signals, which can result in a breakdown of coordination and command".

As Obeida declared, "the Zionist enemy possesses one of the strongest armies in the world, which any country in the region could easily defeat, yet it struggles on Palestinian soil due to our sparse equipment".

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israeli bombings and ground attacks have resulted in over 11,000 casualties, including many women and children. The Israeli army reported that 41 soldiers died at the start of the land invasion in Gaza. In a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, approximately 1,200 Israelis, including 318 soldiers, were killed.