CHACRDIGEST
JULY 30th, 2024
#34
Picture: UK MOD © Crown copyright 2024
The views expressed in this Digest are not those of the British Army or UK Government. This document cannot be reproduced or used in part or whole without the permission of the CHACR. chacr.org.uk
TACTICAL LESSONS FROM GAZA Much of the analysis around the conflict in Gaza has focused on political and strategic problems, including the lack of a ‘day after’ plan and the long-term prospects of an Israeli-Saudi normalisation deal. However, the conflict also holds important lessons for how an advanced military fights in complex urban terrain. A recent report by the Royal United Services Institute has sought to identify the transferable lessons for the British Army from the Israel Defence Forces’ (IDF) operations in Gaza City in autumn 2023. The report’s findings relate to several warfighting functions: mounted and dismounted close combat; combat engineering; subterranean operations; fires; information operations; and humanitarian support operations. While many of the IDF’s tactical and organisational innovations are context specific, the report highlights the decisive role played by tactical-level firepower in shaping the battlefield to the IDF’s advantage. Much of this organic firepower is based on the use of small drones operated at the platoon-level. Kerry Chávez and Ori Swed, writing for the Modern War Institute, elaborate on the use of tactical strike unmanned aircraft systems by lower echelon IDF units. These systems provide small units with greater situational awareness and the ability to conduct precision strikes in direct support of tactical manoeuvres.
ULTRA-ORTHODOX JEWS TO SERVE IN THE IDF Last month, Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the government to start conscripting ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men into military service, effectively ending the de facto exemptions granted to the Haredi community in 1948. The Haredi exemption has taken on increased political importance in Israel following Hamas’ attack on 7 October 2023. The IDF’s plans to extend the length of service for conscripts and reservists in February of this year generated huge backlash by highlighting the unequal burden placed on non-Haredi Jewish Israelis. The Institute for National Security Studies in Israel has highlighted the severe strains on manpower facing the IDF, arguing that plans to conscript an initial cohort of 3,000 Haredi men falls well short of requirements (the IDF currently requires another 20,000 soldiers across combat and combat support roles). While drafting Haredi men might solve some of the IDF’s manpower shortfalls, Daniel Statman, writing for The Israel Democracy Institute, draws attention to some of the practical issues facing the military. Issues such as male-only spaces for Haredi soldiers will provide a challenge for the IDF, which operates under the model of a ‘people’s army’ and has employed women in combat roles since 2000.
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