Weekly Commentary: IDF's Operational Footprint Doesn't Jibe With Halting
Smuggling
Dr. Aaron Lerner, 30 May 2024

There is no question that our brave soldiers, risking life and limb in
operations in the Philadelphi Corridor, want to locate and destroy the
smuggling tunnels passing from Egypt to the Gaza Strip. However, the
observable operational footprint simply does not jibe with what is needed to
accomplish such a mission.

These tunnels may be running scores of meters underground with mechanical
ventilation to avoid the need for a large number of shafts that can be
readily detected.

Additionally, the tunnels are running through earth which makes certain
technologies less effective.

This is not to say that it is impossible to locate and disable the smuggling
tunnels.

It just means that it is going to take a lot of equipment and manpower to
get the job done.

Moreover, that equipment and manpower are going to have to operate
intensively in the urban area of Rafah.

Some talking heads have suggested that our entire operation in the
Philadelphi Corridor is no more than a "bargaining chip."

But halting the smuggling, which is a necessary condition for the success of
any "post-war Gaza," is not a "chip" we can afford to trade.

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