Why urban warfare in Gaza will be bloodier than in Iraq
The battle against IS in Mosul offers Israel lessons—and warnings
THE WAR in Gaza is exacting a brutal toll on civilians. The Hamas-run health ministry says that more than 8,000 people have died. The number of children among them, more than 3,000, exceeds the annual death toll for children in all wars in each of the preceding three years. The Economist estimates, from satellite imagery, that over a tenth of Gaza’s housing stock has been destroyed, leaving more than 280,000 people without homes to which they can return. In many ways that fits with the norm of urban warfare, which is unusually destructive. But Israel’s war in Gaza is also distinctive.
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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Bloodier than in Iraq”
Middle East & Africa November 4th 2023
- The pace of Israel’s war in Gaza far exceeds previous conflicts
- Why urban warfare in Gaza will be bloodier than in Iraq
- Is a two-state solution possible after the Gaza war?
- America suspends duty-free access to four African countries
- How the red beret became Africa’s most political hat
- Ethiopia’s prime minister wants a Red Sea harbour
From the November 4th 2023 edition
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