Alon Ben-David Tel AvivLessons
From Gaza
Israel’s close air support gets closer
I
srael Defense Forces (IDF) are setting new standards for
air support of ground maneuver operations, say Israel
Air Force (IAF) of cials, after reviewing lessons from Op-
eration Protective Edge, the military campaign in Gaza last
summer. To aid ground forces under attack, IAF disregarded
existing safety regulations and dropped hundreds of 2,000-lb.
bombs as close as 100 meters (328 ft.) from friendly forces.
It is unclear whether the 50-day campaign against the
Palestinian Hamas movement will maintain a sustainable
truce between Israel and militants in Gaza. But for the
IAF, which has completed lengthy operational debriefings,
the conflict sets several precedents for close ground sup-
port missions. “This was the first time we were a decisive
player in urban ground combat,” a senior air force officer
tells Aviation Week.
Operation Protective Edge has resulted in a number of
debriefi ngs about tactics and strategies. IDF of cials have
reviewed what did and did not work during the confl ict, and
as a result continue to update battle management plans in a
number of areas, notably joint operations (see related story,
page DTI 8). The lessons and insight that the IDF takes away
from this confl ict doubtless will infl uence operations in future
battles with Hamas in Gaza, or Hezbollah in the north.
The air force had full air superiority over Gaza and
struck 5,262 targets in the strip, dropping 3,600 tons of
munitions. Only 11 strikes by SA-7 and SA-18 man-portable
air-defense systems against Israeli aircraft were recorded.
Hamas’s thin air defenses did not interfere with Israel’s air
operations. However, Hamas’s defensive alignments on theground were stronger than ever , prompting a dramatic
aerial intervention over ground combat.
After an aerial campaign against known and emerging
targets, Israel launched a ground maneuver into Gaza with
the objective of locating and destroying 32 tunnels dug by
Hamas from Gaza into Israel, which were being used to
launch attacks behind Israeli lines.
The Israelis had intelligence on the locations of the tun-
nel entry shafts on the outskirts of the Palestinian urban
areas, but did not know the exact routes of the tunnels or
the locations of the exits in Israel. After several unsuccess-
ful attempts to destroy the tunnels from the air, Israel sent
10 armored and infantry brigades into Gaza.
Before launching the maneuver, Israel warned civilians
via telephone calls, text messages and air-dropped leafl ets
to evacuate neighborhoods that were about to be attacked.
Most of the population complied, and Hamas took over the
neighborhoods and quickly deployed a pre-planned defen-
sive alignment within the civilian infrastructure.
As Israeli ground forces approached the fi rst few rows
of buildings in the easternmost parts of Gaza, they encoun-
tered a fortifi ed fi ghting compound, with antitank weap-
ons, snipers, mortars, mines and massively booby-trapped
buildings. Most of the buildings were connected to a net-
work of tunnels, which enabled Palestinian combatants to
constantly switch positions.
The fi ercest fi ghting occurred as Israel’s Golani infan-
try brigade approached the Shejaiya neighborhood, east of
Gaza City, where Hamas ordered the Palestinian population
to stay put. After 4 hr. of combat, the Israelis suf ered 13
casualties. Most of the Golani senior command was either
killed or wounded. Under heavy fi re and unable to pull back,
the brigade begged for heavy air support.
IAF commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel decided to act
against all safety procedures and ordered the Golani
forces to take cover in their armored vehicles. Then, the
air force began dropping dozens of 2,000-lb. Joint Direct
Attack Munitions on the building sheltering Palestinian
combatants , within 100 meters of friendly forces. In 2 hr.,DEFENSE ANALYSISZIV KOREN
The Israeli air force
drops a Joint Direct
Attack Munition during
a bombardment of the
northern Gaza Strip,
where Hamas was
deployed. The strikes
were launched close
to Israeli forces, which
can be seen in the
foreground of this July
2014 photo.DTI16 MARCH 30 -APRIL 12, 2015 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL AviationWeek.com/dti