Seedorf81

Depends on the amount of explosives, of course. Hamas has been known for storing ammo and weapons in places full of civilians, and a relative small amount of stored rockets could have exacerbate the possible Israeli bomb-detonation. Doesn't really matter what blew up, even if it was Hamas-stuff, because this horrible death-toll could be a game-changer in the sense that "the Arabic/Muslim"-world is going to retaliate now. Somewhere, somehow. And we probably all thought that the Ukraine-war was the biggest threat to world-peace..

Underlining by me. Had the same thought, and someone asked earlier what to do against underwater-attackdrones and I think the same answer, anti-underwaterdrone-drones. Autonomous drones, like there were corvettes and frigates escorting WW2 convoys. May take some time, but should be possible.

I know for a fact that, before the Hamas-attack at least, the Israeli's usually tried to minimize civilian casualties. By using stuff like this https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/blu-129.htm , so either they do not care about civilians anymore, or they hit hidden ammo-storage, or something else happened. But airstrike seems pretty certain, so far.

It was/is live on al Jazeera. While zapping, sudden live horrorshow, uncensored. https://www.aljazeera.com/

This late afternoon: Israel airstrike hits hospital area with loads of refugees. Slaughterhouse, also young kids, already 200-300 deaths, possible more trapped under rubble. Whether Hamas was under this hospital or not, this number of deaths doesn't justify that. O most recent update, deathtoll already 500 deaths. And these deaths are by far not the last in this endless conflict. You can expect that Israel and "the West" are going to have to deal with suicide-bombers, lone wolf shootings, knife-attacks and the lot. And the most terrible thing is that most of those Hamas-****ers are in more or less safe places..

Something I've been wondering for months, and this video triggered my question: Why didn't the Russian clear at least parts of these wooded area's? It has been my understanding that trenches need, or at least benefit from, a clear field of fire. The Russians have been in those positions for months now, and they must have had the time and gear to clear let's say at least 10 meters of shrubbery/trees/bushes. (Even basic entrenching tools could do most of it.) Nearly every video of combat in those small stretches of woodland shows that Ukrainians can approach the trenches with relative ease, because visibility from the trenches is (partially) blocked by the formentioned shrubbery/trees/bushes. Am I missing something? Is there a reason, except for laziness or incompetence, that the Russian do not clear their surroundings? I mean, wouldn't it be much more difficult for the Ukrainians if they had to cross at least 10 meters of open terrain?

I'm wondering how the Israeli army will cope with drone-attacks. From what we've seen on the Ukraine-vids infantry and all vehicles are very vulnerable. Hamas must have seen that too, and they probably have a large supply of drones. (Would be pretty stupid if they haven't.) And with a Stalingrad-like rubble-landscape drone-operators can hide with relative ease. I'm very curious to see if the Israeli's are prepared for a drone-storm. If not, they are gonna suffer big time, I fear.

Us intelligence: Russia received it's first shipment of North-Korean weapons. (1000 containers) Link is Dutch, but original US Twitterpost is in English. https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/buitenland/artikel/5413059/rusland-oekraine-noord-korea-wapenleveranties-munitie

After the defeat of ISIS not every ISIS-fighter or ISIS-leader was dead or caught, of course. Now I wonder if Hamas gave a bunch of them shelter, learned their tactics, and planned to use them as murderous cannonfodder all along.

Imagine here a long list of very angry profanities, swear words, damnations and the lot. People who do this kinda stuff, are pure evil.

Trouble is that AI makes all kinds of disinformation easier and "better". It almost looks as if nobody can be sure anymore about what is really true. Today journalists on tv were questioning if the "40 Israeli babies/children murdered"-news might have been fake-news. One of them (did not seem to be an Israeli-supporter, to say it mildly) yelled that since she saw no evidence, it had to be false information. That is gonna happen with even the most proven truths, some people will trust no nothing no more. Is one of the consequences of this ever growing disinformation that we cannot even rely on dependable sources like the New York times anymore? If so, we're heading for extremely confusing times, because every modern day kid (and every political party, dictator, criminal, psychopath, business-owner, and every other Tom, Dick and Harry) will be able to produce very high-quality disinformation.

May be, but the Egyptians won't accept that. Everybody feels sorry for the Palestinians, but not sorry enough for taking in 2 million disgruntled people. (Can't blame them, t.b.h.) I suspect that Egypt could go to war with Israel, if this reversed Exodus took place. And if that happens, other Arab states will join in.

In the Ukraine-thread the importance of state of the morale of an army/nation at war was discussed. Concensus seems to be that it can be vital. Before the Hamas-attack a whole lot of Israeli's had doubts about the way their government treated the Palestine-situation. The repression, the illegal settlements, the nazi-like (yes, use this phrase on purpose) ultra rightwing-orthodox philosophy and more, made even veteran soldiers and pilots start doubting, and even refusing, their orders. So morale wasn't very good. But now? Like the Ukrainian morale after the Russian invasion; a collective ruthlessness and self-sacrificing total determination. Hamas had it's "victory", but it may be the best example of a Pyrrhic victory we have seen in a very long time.

Dutch journalist visited Svalbard recently.. Svalbard/Spitzbergen has a population of about 2500 souls, Norwegian mostly, but there are about 350 Russians there. And about a year or so ago their consul was replaced by a figure that is being deemed an FSB-officer. And for the first time ever a Russian parade was held. (Believe it or not, about 5-10 trucks and about 20 snowscooters, all waving a huge Russian flag. Absolutely ridiculous.) And a Russian orthodox priest was flown in to bless a newly erected statue/momument/thingy that has Russian Nationalist "meaning". Non-Russian inhabitants fear increasing trouble with/from the Russians and worry seriously about the total lack of Nato/Western security/military presence(!). Also a very unusual flight from a plane with 50 or so Russian "workers" was scheduled to arrive shortly. Also noted was the change in behaviour from the Russians that worked/lived there after the arrival of that new FSB-consul. No more interactions with the Norwegians, and staying mostly in the Russian enclave. Was that cable-disruption coincedental?? Don't think so.

It will be (is, already) an unimaginable horror for the families of the missing/kidnapped persons, but the rest of the Israeli's might have the opinion that after a 1000 people being butchered, there can be no more talking with those who executed and organized the attack. Even if it means the death of all the hostages. Hamas may have created a united and resolute Israel that we haven't seen in decades. I suspect we're gonna find out what an almost fully mobilized Israeli army can achieve when they're in full-revenge mode. But, alas, things will only escalate from here on. The division between "Israel and The West" and the Arab/Muslim world will only get worse. Just the huge difference between reactions and emotions on western news (CNN/BBC) and non-western news (Al Jazeera) is shocking. In the West there is horror, disbelief, and condemning of the brutal attack. And mostly empathy for Israel. But the Arab/muslimworld has a very different outlook. There is a tendency to almost disregard the Hamas-atrocities, because lots of people are absolutely convinced that Israel deserved that. They mention "the West"'s hypocrisy on the Palestinian issue and the horrible way the Israeli's treated the Palestinians for 75 years. There is an insurmountable difference in beliefs. Whether the Israeli's "destroy" Hamas or not, whether they occupy Gaza or not, whether they give up the illegal settlements and free all Palestinian prisoners or not, it won't bring peace. It's not a happy conclusion, but it seems to me that it is a neverending horrorstory.

This is what I wrote yesterday (in the wrong placed Israel-thread), but still think it is valid. Hamas just now announced that they will publicly execute one hostage for every next (air?land? both?) attack on Gaza. I fear that the Israeli army high command and the majority of the cabinet already realize/fear/accept that the hostages will die anyway. (They won't say that out loud, obviously.) Hamas poked the bear, even gave it a real bloody nose and they probably can hurt the bear even more, but it still is a bear. Israeli gloves are off, and I fear it's going to be much more bloody murder on both sides.

Hamas just now announced that they will publicly execute one hostage for every next (air?land? both?) attack on Gaza. I fear that the Israeli army high command and the majority of the cabinet already realize/fear/accept that the hostages will die anyway. Hamas poked the bear, even gave it a real bloody nose and they probably can hurt the bear even more, but it still is a bear. Israeli gloves are off, and I fear it's going to be much more bloody murder on both sides.

I do not want to be banned for mentioning Israel, but I believe that my next question (which is in fact unrelated to the recent escalation) is on-topic. How come that the Israeli airforce can attack "enemy territory" (Syria, Lebanon, Gaza) with practically no losses, while in Ukraine any plane that shows up above contested area's risks being shot down immediately? Are there Israeli airforce - tactics that the Ukranians don't know of, for instance? Are the air-defense capabilities of Hamas and Hezbollah so lousy? What am I missing?

"Putin makes nuclear-powered Burevestnik missile test claim". https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67021695 Let's hope it is an Armata kinda claim..

Abkhazia, separist region Georgia, made deal with Russia for permant navy base. (In the Black Sea, that is.) Otsjamtsjire was Russian navy base during Sovjet-Union period.

Another sign of growing problems in Russia. Title of article: "Russian police crisis. Burned out, disappointed, demoralised." https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66924404 If the Russian police starts to complain, there must be some serious discontent. And if a dictator looses support of his police-force, well, that makes revolts (in most countries, but with Russia you'll never know) more likely/possible.

Combat veterans from all ranks and all branches describe their experiences in/with combat, but they also explain what they believed worked, and what could be improved. Amount of info is stunning, and some of the tips and advice could still be useful on the modern day battlefield. Urban fighting, logistics, AT-warfare, combined arms, engineering, camouflage, maintenance, supplies, medical stuff, transport and much more. It is a 388 page report, and you can (safely) download it from this WW2 US Bombers channel. Play in Youtube, than see description below this video how to obtain this report. Whether you want this very interesting download or not, but you have even a slight bit of interest in WW2 bombers, check this channel out. You will be amazed, no doubt about it.

Or could it be.. "Dislocated shoulder unsuspectedly turned fanatical Nazi into post-war resistance-hero".

Deleted. Too late, no relevance no more.

My thoughts exactly. We should not forget that "All is fair in love and war". I am not saying that I believe that the Ukrainians did blow up Nordstream2, and I wouldn't approve of it, but there is a real possibility that they did. If you feel that you fight for your bare existance, you do not (have to) consider the "hurt" feelings/goods of even your closest allies. See ww2 Mers - el Kebir, for instance.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Mers-el-Kébir We shouldn't exclude possibilities just because we don't like them.