Army expert: – “The Gaza Strip is a pressure cooker”

“The Gaza Strip, which lies between the Mediterranean Sea, Israel and Egypt, is a pressure cooker. The in two Millions of residents are stuck; they are dependent on Israel, for example for water, Food- and energy supply. There are no future prospects there, it is the breeding ground for extremism and terrorism,” said Sandtner.

Hamas has ruled since 2007
At 365 square kilometers, the Gaza Strip is smaller than Vienna (414 square kilometers). The Israeli army withdrew in 2005 and Hamas has ruled there since 2007. It has expanded the area militarily, for example with bunkers and tunnels, and trained thousands of fighters.

Sandtner explains the goals Hamas is pursuing with the latest attack: “It is difficult to assign operational objectives to an organization like Hamas. Hamas’s strategic goal is probably the extinction of Israel. In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks to take she wanted Spread fear and terror and AndDefinitely kill as many people as possible. It was also a clear signal to the (Arab) states that recently pursued a policy of rapprochement with Israel.“

“Hamas itself did not expect this ‘success’”
Sandtner explains why Israel’s secret service, considered one of the best in the world, failed to prevent the attack obviously more recent focused on the West Bank. “And I think Hamas itself did not count on its ‘success’. hat. This is evident from the fact that the terrorists even took over barracks, but left the tanks there. Hamas has achieved more than expected.”

That was the case in Israel since the Jewish New YearI’m September 15th a series of holidays that culminated in the Feast of Tabernacles. Many Israelis were on vacation at the time of the attack. The alertness of the operational organizationactivities, including the military, were significantly reduced. “In summary, one must conclude that this was a multiple organ failure within the entire Israeli security architecture.”

Internal crises made Israel vulnerable
“Moreover, the State of Israel has been constantly preoccupied with itself for a long time. Government crises and the planned restructuring of the judiciary have led to mass protests among the population. Israel is also not necessarily surrounded by friends; it lacks strategic depth, comparable to the states in the Baltic States. “Israel is sandwiched between four Arab states and the Mediterranean Sea and that also explains the defensive nature of the country,” Sandtner said.

Sandtner sees the danger of war on several fronts as a given. “This can be done by Hezbollah from southern Lebanon and by attacking the Palestinians in the West Bank in addition to the attacks from Gaza. That is still the case both on the border with Lebanon and relatively in the West Bank Calm. The Shia terrorist militia Hezbollah initially fired only a few rockets at Israel.”

Citizens are imprisoned
Israel has announced that it will ‘eliminate’ Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “That will mean a massive military intervention there, with many casualties. The question is how long the Arab states will accept that the Israelis are attacking aggressively. However, there are currently no indications of an imminent fire.” The civilian population is practically trapped. Israel has announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Conflicts can also weaken Ukraine
What does this renewed conflict mean for Ukraine? “For Ukraine, this means that weapons and ammunition may not be available in Ukraine, but end up with the Israelis. And he means Ukraine currently outside the public eye has almost completely disappeared, partly because many of them were kidnapped by Hamas or The slain Israelis have dual nationality.“

The federal army is monitoring the situation
“Similar to the precise military strategic assessment in the context of the war in Ukraine, the Army Intelligence Bureau is also closely monitoring developments in Israel in order to provide decision-makers in Austria with relevant information in a timely manner.”.

“With regard to the development of the Federal Armed Forces, it can be said that the path chosen by the Mission Forward and the ÖBH 2032 development plan was exactly the right decision. Take for example the Sky Shield project: the attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure last winter showed how vulnerable modern societies are to aerial threats, and now there were thousands of Hamas rockets in Israel again, causing many casualties in Israel.” he said. Sandtner.