Dust clouds from IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip are visible from afar, deep inside enemy territory. The fine Gazan sand, like a powder, coats everything: soldiers, equipment, shelters. It's almost like a visa stamp for entering the Gaza Strip. This is the first press tour in Gaza since the launch of Operation Gideon's Chariots, the IDF's large-scale military operation announced with great fanfare in mid-May. The overwhelming sense is one of déjà vu.
Waves of destruction stretch out before us, dirt roads carved through the wreckage, rows upon rows of burned and demolished houses, occasionally broken by a small yard that somehow survived the war, with a few trees and a lone chicken. Just like in previous visits, the view outside the armored vehicle window reveals total devastation, with no visible trace of the elusive enemy that turned Khan Younis into its fortress. We're riding in a sealed Namer armored personnel carrier, unlike the open jeeps of earlier tours, a sign of the threat from Hamas's explosives-rigged combat zones, the terrorist group's new modus operandi.
After a 50-minute drive, a testament to how deep IDF forces are operating inside the Gaza Strip, we disembark directly into a fortified IDF position. There we meet Col. S., commander of the 7th Armored Brigade, who starts the tour with the most important update:
"Today we have a far greater ability to destroy Hamas's tunnel systems in Khan Younis than in previous operations," he says. "Thanks to various intelligence assets and data collected and analyzed over months from earlier incursions, we now have capabilities we didn't have before. We've managed to strike and eliminate many terrorists inside the tunnels, and confirm it. Many others are hiding there, and we'll get to them too."
Targeting Hamas's tunnels has long been one of the IDF's toughest military challenges in its fight against the group in Gaza. Hamas terrorists use the vast tunnel network, built before the war, to hide, store weapons, and move undetected, sometimes even from town to town. In late April, Israeli media reported that despite intensive fighting and extensive infrastructure damage, only 25% of Hamas's tunnels had been destroyed. Worse still, Hamas has been systematically repairing damaged tunnels and building new ones.
"In the past, we had to go shaft by shaft, trying to destroy each one to prevent tunnel use," the brigade commander explains, outlining the shift in tactics enabled by improved intelligence.
Alongside Col. S. stands Lt. Col. D., commander of the 77th Battalion, whose troops control the sector we're visiting. "We paved the way with a brigade-level assault and captured significant territory north of Khan Younis, this is where you are now," he explains.
"The goal was to enable other forces to operate deeper in and to take highly strategic underground assets away from Hamas. For the past three weeks, we've been consolidating control to prevent enemy forces from re-entering this area. There are many things we didn't know how to do in the previous maneuver that we now know well. We came in focused and determined and achieved major successes in a very short time," he says, referring in part to strikes on key parts of Hamas's tunnel system.
Eyes in the sky
Inside one of the buildings at the fortified post, we ascend a damaged stairwell to a surprisingly well-furnished large living room now serving as the battalion's command center. Amid various classified activities, three female soldiers from an external unit, drone operators, are seated among dozens of male soldiers, scanning aerial footage of the neighborhood on a large screen. One of them is currently flying a drone.
S., the team leader, explains:
"This area is almost completely devoid of civilians. Our job is to locate terrorists, identify them as legitimate targets, complete the kill chain and verify results. Sometimes we close the circle with a grenade-dropping drone. Since arriving here, we've eliminated numerous terrorists and in at least one case prevented harm to innocent people."
Asked about their unconventional deployment, she smiles:
"The male soldiers around us are disciplined and very helpful. They're no problem at all. We're here to do a job. It's hard to go so long without a proper shower under these conditions, but it's worth it."
The others giggle awkwardly.
The "eyes in the sky" that S. and her teammates provide, along with a vast number of drones operated around the clock by the battalion, are central to what has changed on the battlefield. Ambushes, mortar fire, and terrorist infiltration have all become much more difficult under the IDF's constant aerial surveillance. The progress in drone operations is dramatic. Early in the war, drone teams operated single units without night vision. Now, the system is finely tuned and reminiscent of Ukrainian drone units in their war against Russia, where small flying devices became foundational to battlefield strategy and helped materially outgunned forces stay in the fight.
Also in the command post is Lt. L., the brigade operations officer, who says:
"This time we have the time to work thoroughly so we don't have to come back here again. It's hard to return to a place where people have been killed. That's the guiding principle of this mission."He adds:
"The enemy won't be able to return here. It's very systematic, you know exactly where you're going and what the mission is. In the past, you were told to capture an area with no intelligence. Today, we have much better intel. This maneuver is creating a lot of opportunities."
For the soldiers of the 77th Battalion surrounding us, discussions of operational length, equipment wear, and harsh conditions in the Gaza Strip are part of daily life.
"We arrived from the Syrian sector three weeks ago, full of energy and with tremendous force," says Ben, a battalion soldier.
Asked about fatigue, some of his comrades respond with a shrug: "What can you do?"
Asked if there's anywhere else they'd rather be, the answer is unanimous: "No."
"It's hard, it's hot, we haven't showered properly in ages, but we're here for the people of Israel. For me, that's everything. It fills me up and recharges me. I'm not just a cog in the machine. I'm not burned out," says Amit, a soldier who seems to embody the battalion's spirit.
Still, he has one request:
"Stop fighting among yourselves back home. Stay united. Argue, but understand that we're all one people."
As the armored vehicle rattles its way back to the border through clouds of dust and searing heat, Amit's plea is the one thing that sticks in my mind.
