The Destruction in Gaza
According to The Economist magazine, more than 280,000 people in Gaza have lost their homes due to Israeli bombing. Can you imagine that? It's estimated that over a tenth of the houses in Gaza were destroyed. That's a lot of damage!
Similarities to Iraq
When we look at the history of urban warfare, we can see some similarities between Gaza and Iraq. The first American attack on Fallujah in Iraq back in 2004 resulted in the deaths of about 600 civilians. In Gaza, the current war has led to the deaths of about 0.3% of the population, which is even higher than what happened in Fallujah.
In 2004, there was another attack in Fallujah that killed about 800 people and left most of the city's buildings destroyed. Similarly, the battle of Sadr City in Baghdad killed around 1,000 people. These numbers are not so different from what's happening in Gaza right now.
The Battle of Mosul
The largest urban war in recent years happened in Mosul, Iraq. ISIS had taken control of the city, and a US-led coalition fought to remove them. During this battle, around 9,000 civilians were killed, which is a higher percentage compared to Gaza. The city also suffered significant damage, with 80% of the buildings being residential.
Differences between Gaza and Iraq
Civilians
In Mosul, ISIS tried to prevent civilians from escaping by shooting at them and mining the passages outside the city. However, many people managed to leave. In Gaza, Israel has not allowed temporary pauses for civilians to escape, despite calls from the European Union and others.
Infrastructure
In Iraq, ISIS had only controlled Mosul for a couple of years before the battle began. But in Gaza, Hamas has been there since 1987 and has deep roots in the area. Their defenses are built around and under civilian infrastructure, making it harder to target them without affecting innocent people.
Tactics
Israel claims to focus on protecting civilians, but their bombing in Gaza has been intense. In the first six days of the war, they dropped 6,000 bombs, which is a lot more than what we've seen in American and Western counter-terrorism campaigns. In comparison, the US-led coalition dropped 7,000 bombs over two months in Mosul.
Intelligence
At the beginning of the war, the Israeli army had a lot of intelligence about Hamas in Gaza. They had been collecting information for years. However, Hamas seems to have the advantage on the ground, with local residents providing intelligence assistance. This puts the Israeli army in a challenging position.
Warfare in Gaza is different from what happened in Iraq. The destruction is devastating, but there are some key differences in tactics, infrastructure, and intelligence.
Source: Economist
