Gaza Field Source: New Weapons Alter Tactics in War with Israel

A frame from a video by Hamas’ media office shows battles between the Al-Qassam Brigades and Israeli forces in Gaza on November 8. (AFP)
A frame from a video by Hamas’ media office shows battles between the Al-Qassam Brigades and Israeli forces in Gaza on November 8. (AFP)
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Gaza Field Source: New Weapons Alter Tactics in War with Israel

A frame from a video by Hamas’ media office shows battles between the Al-Qassam Brigades and Israeli forces in Gaza on November 8. (AFP)
A frame from a video by Hamas’ media office shows battles between the Al-Qassam Brigades and Israeli forces in Gaza on November 8. (AFP)

Israel and Hamas have started experimenting with new weapons and altering their combat tactics based on past experiences, a field source, who requested anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

After a prolonged and complicated battle, fighters have discovered significant changes in the Israeli army’s weapons and tactics, added the source, who is also a member of armed military wings in Gaza.

The source said the Israelis have started using remotely operated weapons, including AI-driven tanks.

The Quadcopter drone, initially designed for surveillance or the firing of gas bombs, has been equipped with mounted machineguns.

Gazans told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israeli forces have used new bombs and missiles not previously tested in any war.

Moreover, there is an increasing reliance on deploying drones, trained dogs, and robots to combat zones, particularly in dealing with tunnels, rather than sending soldiers, noted the source.

After an extended period of combat, Palestinian fighters became aware of Israel’s use of unmanned tanks, prompting them to modify their approach in dealing with these vehicles and making a decision to refrain from targeting them except in specific situations.

These unmanned tanks maneuver with agility and fire like conventional ones. They were discovered after fighters successfully targeted them on multiple occasions.

In addition to the shift in tank-targeting tactics, the fighters completely changed their approach to a hit-and-run style.

Sources within Palestinian factions stated that fighters have transformed destroyed houses into observation points, moving without weapons until obtaining them shortly before launching attacks from specific locations, complicating the task of Israeli surveillance.

In Gaza, Palestinian fighters are using anti-armor and individual weapons and then engaging Israeli soldiers with light arms. Additionally, they are deploying drones in their attacks.

Hamas employs inexpensive and modified drones, some repurposed as “suicide” drones, while others to carry and drop bombs.



Anxiety Rises in DR Congo Capital as M23 Rebels Advance in East 

Residents venture out onto the streets following clashes at Kadutu Market in Bukavu on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Residents venture out onto the streets following clashes at Kadutu Market in Bukavu on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Anxiety Rises in DR Congo Capital as M23 Rebels Advance in East 

Residents venture out onto the streets following clashes at Kadutu Market in Bukavu on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Residents venture out onto the streets following clashes at Kadutu Market in Bukavu on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

As Rwanda-backed rebels strolled through the streets of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's second-largest city, President Felix Tshisekedi's office claimed it was actually still controlled by his army and "valiant" allied forces.

It was the latest jarring move from the 61-year-old leader that has fueled a sense of worry and panic 1,600 km (1,000 miles) away in the capital Kinshasa, where some residents are looking to move their families abroad amid open talk of a coup.

"There was never any question of fighting in Bukavu. It was clear to all the people on the ground that the Rwandans and their auxiliaries were going to make their entry," said one army general who expressed bafflement at a statement issued by the president's office on Sunday.

Tshisekedi, he added, "doesn't have the right sources."

Anxiety is visible on the streets of Kinshasa as the army puts up limited resistance against the M23 group's advance and residents question whether Tshisekedi grasps the risk it poses.

Embassies have begun using armored vehicles for trips to the airport and sending some staff across the Congo River to Brazzaville, capital of Republic of Congo.

Three Kinshasa-based government officials told Reuters they were making arrangements to get their families out of the country.

Banker Matondo Arnold said he had already sent his family to Brazzaville after the rebels seized Goma, eastern Congo's biggest city, in late January. "We never imagined Goma could fall," he said.

As talk about a possible coup spread, Justice Minister Constant Mutamba said on X that Congolese "will not accept any coup that involves the Rwandan army to destabilize the country's institutions."

But even a member of Tshisekedi's Sacred Union coalition said the anxiety was unmistakable.

"Oh yes, it's panic. Some people are desperate and they are courting embassies" in search of an exit.

SUMMIT SNUB

This M23 advance is the gravest escalation in more than a decade of the long-running conflict in eastern Congo, rooted in the spillover of Rwanda's 1994 genocide into Congo and the struggle for control of Congo's vast minerals resources.

Rwanda rejects allegations from Congo, the United Nations and Western powers that it supports M23 with arms and troops. It says it is defending itself against the threat from a Hutu militia, which it says is fighting with the Congolese military.

As the hunt for a diplomatic resolution stalls, with Tshisekedi refusing to negotiate with the rebels, his camp faults the international community for failing to stand up to Rwanda by imposing sanctions.

"It's not a bad thing to refuse dialogue with an armed group like M23. The M23 is Rwanda," said a lawmaker close to the president. "Why doesn't the West do anything?"

Tshisekedi has skipped two African-organized meetings this month addressing the fighting - a joint summit in Dar es Salaam of Southern and Eastern African leaders and the annual African Union summit in Addis Ababa.

Instead, he travelled to the Munich Security Conference where he accused his predecessor Joseph Kabila of sponsoring M23's military campaign, which Kabila's camp denied.

The decision by Tshisekedi, who spent much of his life in Brussels, to fly to Europe drew derision from the Congolese political establishment.

"The fact that an African president snubs the African Union summit and prefers instead a security conference in Europe is indicative of who sustains him," said one former senior official.

Some members of Congo's fractious opposition are openly predicting Tshisekedi will not last.

"His lack of legitimacy is now proven, making him less and less listened to and more and more rejected by the population every day," said Olivier Kamitatu, a Kabila-era minister and spokesperson for opposition politician Moise Katumbi.

"Tshisekedi did not understand the issues of the country and the region. He did not have enough intellectual heft to lead Congo," said Martin Fayulu, who came in second in the 2018 election that brought Tshisekedi to power.

But it is unclear who could pose the most legitimate challenge to Tshisekedi, said Congolese analyst Bob Kabamba of the University of Liege in Belgium.

"With the capture of Goma and Bukavu, no one is sure of Tshisekedi's ability to control the security and political situation," he said.