Behind enemy lines in Gaza

Jerusalem Post:

Operating behind enemy lines in Gaza during the conflict with Hamas, the elite Maglan unit has attacked dozens of terrorists cells that fired on the IDF, destroyed areas used to launch rockets at Israel, and killed and injured 40 terrorists in recent days.

A senior source from the unit revealed that its members have targeted Hamas gunmen waiting in ambush for the IDF's Ground Forces, striking the threats right before Israeli forces pass by the ambushes.

The Maglan unit has detected and destroyed forward Hamas posts and rocket launchers. It has detected a cross-border underground attack tunnel leading into Israel from Gaza, and found 20 bomb-laden, booby-trapped homes in Gaza. The unit also uncovered a very large quantity of weapons, and enemy intelligence files in raids.

The source said the unit is operating in a heavily built up area, characterized by residential buildings, orchards surrounded by buildings, and tunnels. Hamas has planted its military assets deep inside the very fabric of Gazan civilian life, he said. "Hamas operatives and area commanders, as well as their rocket cell members, keeps one part of their home for normal family life. A second part of the home is the command center, or the start of a tunnel. Daily life and military infrastructure are totally interwoven," the source said.

"This is the source of the complexity we face in our combat. We must overcome the challenge of differentiating between Hamas and the civilian population," he added. The Maglan unit is meeting the challenge, detecting a series of Hamas assets, he said.
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Hamas has built "defensive layers around the tunnels. They have attack positions in mosques, in the homes of operatives, and tunnels that allow terrorists to approach our forces," he said. "That requires very accurate and sometimes aggressive counter-measures by us. I know that all of the IDF's units are accomplishing this mission, even though there are casualties. We understand that if we do not deal with these threats, they will come to our home front. If you talk to members of our unit, it is clear to all of us that we don't take care of this, if we don't destroy these threats and thwart them, they will reach us in a much more aggressive way, and they will harm Israeli civilians and soldiers." 

Additionally, the source said, it is "impossible" to demolish the threats via long-range firepower. Only a ground offensive that reaches the tunnel shafts can get the job done, he said. "This shows that despite intelligence, there is no alternative to getting there and destroying targets from up close," the source said.
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Hamas has tried to integrate its defense into civilian areas and most of the homes have weapons in them.  The Islamist death cult appears to be having less success dealing with Israel's ground  operations.