As war between Israel and Hamas continues in the Gaza Strip, many observers, including Israeli citizens, have begun to lose patience with a campaign that, at its onset, promised to restore security to Israel’s Western border following the attacks of October 7. To do so, the Israeli government contended, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) would be required to dismantle Hamas’ military capabilities in their entirety. Unfortunately, achieving this laudable goal requires contending with one of the most sophisticated tunnel networks in the history of modern warfare, a challenge that plays directly into Hamas’ military and political strategies.
Prior to the war, the IDF estimated that Hamas owned and operated three-hundred miles of tunnels. These estimates proved woefully inaccurate. January estimates place that figure at closer to 450 miles, with depths surpassing even the wildest assumptions, containing more than five thousand entry shafts, placed strategically underneath hospitals, schools, mosques, and private homes. These tunnels provide Hamas with a palpable military advantage, enabling their forces to avoid direct engagement with technologically and numerically superior IDF forces and enabling Hamas to use guerrilla tactics to attack or threaten IDF soldiers, at their discretion.
However, the true purpose behind these tunnels is political. By delaying IDF operations and forcing the IDF to invade or destroy entryways placed with civilian infrastructure, the tunnels represent Hamas’ best hope for thwarting Israel’s aims. Hamas knows that with each passing day and with every innocent casualty, internal and external pressures to end IDF operations grow stronger.
In countless conflicts, from the American Revolution to the Vietnam War to the War in Afghanistan, the ability to delay a more advanced adversary proved decisive, enabling local armies or paramilitary groups to wait for the political will of their opponent to falter. Defeating such tactics requires incredible patience.
The Hebrew word for patience, savlanut, is related to the Hebrew root sevel, which means pain and suffering, as well as the Hebrew root saval, which refers to a porter or carrier. Exercising patience means carrying the burden of suffering. As such, if Israel hopes to achieve its goal of dismantling the Hamas military apparatus, then the state and its advocates must focus significant resources on helping its soldiers, citizens, and friends bear the physical, psychological, and spiritual burdens created by extended conflict.
— Rabbi Josh Knobel
