The trumpet of war sounds; Can Hamas Defend Israel?

OkTel Aviv: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in a war-like situation. Defense experts are watching to see what happens if a full-scale war breaks out. Can Palestine and Hamas stand up to Israel’s military and intelligence forces? Israel has one of the most well-equipped military units in the world. And the Mossad, a very powerful intelligence service

Israel leads in military presence

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has 1,76,500 active troops. Of these, 133,000 are in the Army. The Navy has 9,500 men. 34,000 in the Air Force. The reserve force is 5,65,000. In addition, the number will rise again as more than three million men and women join the ranks of military-trained volunteers. With a total population of 9 million, this is the number of people who have received military training on the Israeli side

There are only about 50,000 troops for the various factions in Palestine. According to various estimates, Hamas alone has more than 20,000 troops. The Qassam Brigade, an armed wing of Hamas, has about 7,000 to 10,000 troops. But unofficial reports suggest this could be as high as 40,000.

The Islamic Jihad group, which operates in the region with Iranian support, has ten thousands of activists. The Palestinian Authority’s security forces have 83,000 fighters, but they will not be able to land under the Oslo Agreement if there is a full-scale war.

Israel is known as one of the largest military arms exporting powers in the world. Locally, Israel sells  weapons to Russia, the United States and various European countries. They are also reported to have secretly developed nuclear weapons without being part of an international nuclear non – proliferation treaty. The army has a capacity of more than 3,000 tanks.

The tanks are 441 Mercury MK1, 455 Mercury MK2, 454 Mercury MK3, 175 Mercury MK4 and 206 Centurion Model. The soldiers were armed with M4A1, M16 rifles, M24SWA 7.62mm Bolt Action Sniper Rifles and SR-25 7.62mm Semi Automatic Sniper Rifles.

The Israeli air force is reported to have at least 684 fighter jets. The 34,000-strong Air Force is powered by F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon Fighter Jet, AH-1 Cobra and AH64D Apache attack helicopters.

The Israeli navy, which has 10,000 active troops, has four small warships, eight missile boats, five submarines, 45 patrol boats and two sport ships. Palestine lags far behind in this regard as well.

Missiles and the Iron Dome

Israel has a stockpile of state-of-the-art ballistic and cruise missiles. In addition to Palestine, defense experts say it could apply to Egypt, Syria and Iran. These include medium-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, as well as short-range subsonic cruise missiles.

Israel’s arsenal of missiles capable of carrying 1,000 kilograms of warheads and strikes at 1,500 km range is reported. Defense agencies say Israel has 3,500 km of missiles capable of striking all parts of Iran.

In addition to this, the air defense system called ‘Iron Dome’ is capable of destroying rockets fired by Hamas and Islamic Jihad without touching the ground. Despite its military presence, Israel faces heavy rocket fire from Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Israeli intelligence estimates that Hamas’s 6,000 rockets have a range of 40-55 kilometers from the Gaza border.

Rocket launching strategy

Israeli media reports that Islamic Jihad has 8,000 short-range rockets. Israeli agencies also believe that Hamas has rockets with a range of 100-160 km. Meanwhile, the Islamic Jihad group has rockets with a range of 100 km

Israeli intelligence reports that Hamas also has rockets capable of hitting cities such as Tel Aviv with a range of 70-80 km. Most of their rockets are made in Iran.

The focus is on Sheikh Jarah

While Israel is often seen as a military and intelligence leader, it is estimated that Israel’s goal of capturing some of East Jerusalem’s key bases is behind the current conflict. Israel’s move to evacuate the Palestinians from East Jerusalem and secure full – fledged Jewish immigration and seize control of the region is likely to push the West into conflict and a little more into a war – like situation.Meanwhile, Hamas and its allies are seen as trying to draw Israeli attention to the conflict in the region by rocket fire and other means, and to push for a ceasefire with the intervention of countries including the US.

The current problems are attributed to the month – long Jewish – Palestinian conflict in Sheikh Jarah province in East Jerusalem, which is being targeted by both sides. It remains to be seen whether international pressure will be able to prevent Israel’s habitual stance on achieving its goals, even as the United Nations maintains its support for Palestine, Iran and the need to end the war.