Why Israel's bombardment of Gaza neighborhood left US officers 'stunned'

Analysis: Military sources say Pentagon's assessment of Shujaiya shelling alarmed even Secretary of State John Kerry

The cease-fire announced Tuesday between Israel and Palestinian factions — if it holds — will end seven weeks of fighting that killed more than 2,200 Gazans and some 69 Israelis. But as the rival camps seek to put their spin on the outcome, one assessment of Israel’s Gaza operation that won’t be publicized is that of the U.S. military. Still, even though the Pentagon shies away from publicly expressing judgments that might fall afoul of a decidedly pro-Israel Congress, senior U.S. military sources speaking on condition of anonymity offered a scathing assessment of Israeli tactics, particularly in the battle for Shujaiya.

One of the more curious moments in Israel’s Operation Protective Edge came on July 20, when a live microphone at FOX News caught Secretary of State John Kerry commenting sarcastically on Israel’s military action: “It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation,” Kerry said. “It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation.”

The secretary of state’s comment followed the heaviest bombardment of the war to that point, as Israeli artillery rained thousands of high-explosive shells into the neighborhood of Shujaiya, a residential area on the eastern edge of Gaza City. A high-ranking U.S. military officer told this reporter that the source of Kerry’s apparent consternation was almost certainly a Pentagon summary report assessing the Israeli barrage, on which the Secretary had been briefed by an aide moments earlier.

According to this senior U.S. officer, who had access to the July 21 Pentagon summary of the previous 24 hours of Israeli operations, the internal report showed that 11 Israeli artillery battalions —a minimum of 258 artillery pieces in all, according to this officer’s estimate — had pumped at least 7,000 high explosive shells into the Gaza neighborhood, which included a barrage of some 4,800 shells during the seven-hour period marking the height of the operation. Senior U.S. officers were stunned by the report.

Twice daily throughout the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) operation, a select group of senior U.S. military and intelligence officers at the Pentagon received a lengthy written summary of Israeli military action in Gaza. The reports — compiled from information gleaned from open sources, Israeli military officers with whom U.S. officials speak and satellite images — offered a detailed assessment of Israel’s battlefield tactics and the performance of its weaponry, a considerable portion of it supplied by the United States.

Although these reports shy away from offering political judgments on the operation, a number of senior U.S. military officers who spoke about the contents of those daily reports with this reporter were highly critical of some of the IDF’s tactics, particularly in the Israeli ground invasion of Shujaiya. An official spokesman at the Pentagon declined to comment on the contents of this article.

On July 16, the IDF had dropped leaflets into Shujaiya, warning residents of an imminent Israeli attack and urging them to evacuate the area. The next day, after a short artillery preparation, three IDF units, led by the Golani Brigade, began a ground assault into the neighborhood to destroy Hamas bunkers and break up Hamas formations.

The incursion went well at first, with Golani soldiers meeting little resistance. But by late on Saturday afternoon, July 19, forward elements of the brigade were running head on into well-organized Hamas units, and some IDF formations were pinned down in vicious house-to-house fighting in Shujaiya’s streets and alleys. What had been envisaged as “a limited ground operation” was not going as planned, with Hamas units emerging from tunnels and bunkers in attempts to exploit IDF weaknesses. The Hamas units were well prepared and trained, with their formations hidden so well that Israeli soldiers were rarely able to pinpoint their locations.

“The ground assault was poorly handled into eastern Gaza City,” an Israel civilian advisor to the IDF’s chief of staff told this reporter at the time. “The Hamas fighters showed an unexpected tenacity, and were far more effective against our armored units than we’d anticipated.”

By late Saturday night and into Sunday morning, the fight had devolved into a series of vicious small unit clashes, with IDF squads facing off against Hamas squads, sniper units and teams carrying lethal anti-tank rockets. In one eight-hour period that began during the early hours of Sunday, July 20, the IDF suffered 13 dead, seven of them in an armored personnel carrier that caught fire after a Hamas sapper team detonated an anti-tank mine beneath it. When the IDF moved to retrieve the bodies and the stricken APC, Hamas fighters targeted the rescue vehicles and engaged in running gun battles with IDF combat teams as the rescue convoy retreated.

In the early hours of that Sunday morning, with IDF casualties mounting, IDF tank commanders were directed by their senior officers to “take off the gloves” and “to open fire at anything that moves,” according to reports in the Israeli press.

The three Israeli units assaulting Shujaiya were never in danger of being defeated, but the losses the IDF suffered in the four-day house-to-house battle embarrassed IDF commanders. By the afternoon of Saturday, July 19, even before Israel had suffered most of its casualties, the scale of resistance prompted Israeli battlefield commanders to blanket Shujaiya with high-explosive artillery rounds, rockets fired from helicopters and bombs dropped by F-16s. The decision was confirmed at the highest levels of the IDF.

By Sunday night, Palestinian officials were denouncing the bombardment of Shujaiya as a “massacre” while international pressure mounted on the Israeli government to explain the heavy casualty toll being inflicted on Gaza civilians. The IDF told the press that Shujaiya had been a “fortress for Hamas terrorists” and reiterated that while Israel had “warned civilians” to evacuate, “Hamas ordered them to stay. Hamas put them in the line of fire.”

The only possible reason for doing that is to kill a lot of people in as short a period of time as possible. ... It’s not mowing the lawn, it’s removing the topsoil. Senior officer U.S. military Kerry’s hot-microphone comments reflect the shock among U.S. observers at the scale and lethality of the Israeli bombardment.

“Eleven battalions of IDF artillery is equivalent to the artillery we deploy to support two divisions of U.S. infantry,” a senior Pentagon officer with access to the daily briefings told me. “That’s a massive amount of firepower and it’s absolutely deadly.” But another officer, a retired artillery commander who served in Iraq, says the Pentagon’s assessment might well have underestimated the firepower the IDF brought to bear on Shujaiya. “This is the equivalent of the artillery we deploy to support a full corps,” he said. “It’s just a huge number of weapons.”

Artillery pieces used during the operation included a mix of Soltam M71 guns and U.S.-manufactured Paladin M109s (a 155 mm howitzer), each of which fires three shells per minute. “The only possible reason for doing that is to kill a lot of people in as short a period of time as possible,” said the senior U.S. military officer who spoke with me about the report. “It’s not mowing the lawn,” he added, referring to a popular IDF term for periodic military operations against Hamas in Gaza. “It’s removing the topsoil.”

“Holy Bejesus,” exclaimed retired Lt. General Robert Gard when told the numbers of artillery pieces and rounds fired during the July 21 action. “That rate of fire over that period of time is astonishing. If the figures are even half right, Israel’s response was absolutely disproportionate.” A West Point graduate, who is veteran of two wars and now the Chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Gard added that even if Israeli artillery units fired guided munitions, it would have made little difference.

Even the most sophisticated munitions have a circular area of probability, Gard explained, according to which a certain percentage of shells sometimes land dozens or even hundreds of feet from intended targets. Highly trained artillery commanders know this, and compensate for their misses by firing more shells. So, if even 10 percent of the shells fired at combatants in Shujaiya landed close to, but not directly on top of their targets — a higher than average rate of accuracy — that would have meant at least 700 lethal shells landing among the civilian population of Shujaiya during the night of July 20 into June 21. And the kill radius of even the most precisely targeted 155 mm shell is 164 feet. Put another way, as Gard said, “precision weapons aren’t all that precise.”

Senior U.S. officers who are familiar with the battle and Israeli artillery operations, which are modeled on U.S. doctrine, assessed that, based on the rate of artillery fire into Shujaiya overnight Sunday, IDF commanders weren’t precisely targeting Palestinian military formations, as much as laying down an indiscriminate barrage aimed at “cratering” the neighborhood. The cratering operation was designed to collapse the Hamas tunnels discovered when IDF ground units came under fire in the neighborhood. Initially, said the senior U.S. military officer who spoke with me about the military summaries of IDF operations, Israel’s artillery had used “suppressing fire to protect their forward units, but then poured in everything they had — in a kind of walking barrage. Suppressing fire is perfectly defensible — a walking barrage isn’t.”

The Israelis’ own defense of their action reinforced the belief among some senior U.S. officers that artillery fire into Shujaiya had been indiscriminate. That’s because the Israelis explained the civilian casualty toll on the basis that the neighborhood’s non-combatant population had been used as “human shields” because they had been “ordered to stay” in their homes by Hamas after the IDF had warned them to leave.

“Listen, we know what it’s like to kill civilians in war,” said the senior U.S. officer. “Hell, we even put it on the front pages. We call it collateral damage. We absolutely try to minimize it, because we know it turns people against you. Killing civilians is a sure prescription for defeat. But that’s not what the IDF did in Shujaiya on July 21. Human shields? C’mon, just own up to it.”

Precisely; as this was against a concentrated enemy. In this type of war these opportunities are few and far between.

Khe Sanh was fought because the US Military was frustrated in finding and bringing a superior firepower against a concentrated enemy. Until this point General Giap had been applying asymmetrical warfare techniques. There is still much debate as to why at this point in time he did so.
Despite what you read from many sources, if it was a diversion the following Tet Offensive, it was militarily a disaster for the NVA and set them back many years. It was however strategically a victory for the NVA from a propaganda viewpoint.

You picked up on the same BS I did. Seems the prescription has done a one eighty since the last war we really WON.

Judging by recent events in the ME, I think Israel, along with Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, and the Saudis, could pretty much care less what the US or obama
say or want. The US, no thanks to obama and his douchebag puppet kerry, have pretty much destroyed any credibility or influence we may have had in the region. They have more urgent problems to deal with, including some problems caused or exasperated by the US itself.

In war you don't have acceptable proportionate DEATH.

One death is too many, you do what ever it takes to stay alive, that often means killing the enemy. They can die or give up but when you agree to let a like amount of your soldiers to die just to keep things even you're stupid. You should just give up if that is what you want.

It is Hamas that is killing, why don't they get bad PR?

Only God can save this nation at this point.......

Exactly right, but the pagan nation that the US has become within the past 1 or 2 generations is now rejecting His laws that have been the backbone of America's justice system since it's inception, and is turning against Him and His chosen people, aka Israel, as well.

Sadly, if this rejection of God and His laws continues to expand as it has over the past few decades America's incredibly rapid changeover from a predominantly Christian nation to a Godless, atheistic one will eventually culminate in the destruction of the US as a great nation. Over the course of my 77 years I have seen the US change so radically that it's hard to believe that I still live in the same nation that I remember as a teenager.

I hate to say all that, but I don't foresee any changes for the better in the immediate future, and will only get worse unless we as a nation return to God and His laws as the basis of our laws, our society, and our government.

I take a more positive outlook.

We as American business men have daily ongoing dealings with the various Arab nations mentioned. As far as I can see, those relations have not changed. The commercial ties remain strong.

The are not dummies and know that America is not Barack Obama. It is Barack Obama and his minions that have lost credibility.

The recent decisions are evidence that they have decided to follow a course deemed to be best by the Obamaless coalition. The world is laughing at the Obama regime.

There is a strong tendency onFree Republic to view all the mideast through a warped Islamic prism. That view is severely distorted. The real power lies with the money men

I understand that part, but it is the political meddling that has caused more problems than it has solved. As far as business goes, wait until the US government under obama starts using sanctions to smack down anyone who refuses to side with their jihadi buddies in the muslim brotherhood.Even obama himself said he would side with the muslims if opinion turned against them, and so far, through his actions and policies, he is siding with the most radical elements of islam, including the MB, IS, and hamas. Of course the ME has plenty of other customers in the rest of the world, and it would probably be easier to deal with them, instead of a radicalized US regime.

"“Holy Bejesus,” exclaimed retired Lt. General Robert Gard when told the numbers of artillery pieces and rounds fired during the July 21 action. “That rate of fire over that period of time is astonishing. If the figures are even half right, Israel’s response was absolutely disproportionate.” A West Point graduate, who is veteran of two wars and now the Chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Gard added that even if Israeli artillery units fired guided munitions, it would have made little difference."

Screw you "general"...the terrorists started it, for decades they have been maiming and killing innocents in Israel. How "disproportionate" is a Hamas missile landing in a school yard maiming and killing school children?

Freakin' loser...

You speak of middle east customers here. I’m talking about American customers in the Arab states. The Arabs are still very good customers of American industry. We sell them lots of stuff. They like American products.

America has extensive investment in Arab companies. Look up the Sadara Jubail to find one such massive project currently underway.

Although there is an emphasis on oil, trade is not limited to oil or petroleum products.

This is the only comprehensive piece I have read on this battle.

Could you direct me to other articles? I’m particularly interested in the description of the Hamas forces engaged.

I imagine yellow jackets boiling out from a hole in the ground but my imagination is probably off base

Maybe I didn’t word it right. I have no problem with trading and doing business with the Middle Eastern countries. The problem I see is that obama and his regime have alterior motives when it comes to dealing with the ME. The perception is that he has sided with the most radical and disruptive elements in the ME, and may use any means, including punitive financial sanctions to further his goals. What I am saying is that maybe the cooler heads among the governments in the ME should form more local alliances with their neighbors, and plan for dealings that don’t involve the US, at least for the time being. Just like the ME, the US has its own radical elements to deal with, including the ones currently residing in the white house.

“That’s a massive amount of firepower and it’s absolutely deadly.”

Shock and Awe, Baby!

All these experts failed to mention that Hamas could have withdrawn or surrendered but they chose to fight it out in Shujaiya in fixed positions of great strength... IDF choice was it's soldiers blood or Hamas’s. No choice at all to me.

The alliances exist and are working.

The primary alliance is the Arab league.

Then there is the GCC, the Gulf Cooperation council consisting of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman. Generally, Saudi Arabia is their voice. The recent statement by a high Saudi cleric to the effect that ISIL was not Islam is a powerful statement. There is some question in my mind about Qatar being completely in the fold so I will hold them aside. Originally, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the USA were allied to oust Bashir Assad. Defecting Syrian officers and troops fled to Turkey where they met with the coalition noted.

We don’t know what happened to the cohesion but it fell apart when Obama would not agree to some unknown way forward.

Turkey has also not been so prominent in the fight.

With the Saudi announcement it is my belief that the coalition is now going to resist the ISIL extremism. How? I have no clue.

Then there is Egypt. The GCC led by Saudi Arabia saved Egypt from the Moslem Brotherhood. Egypt has been tough on Hamas and Gaza...... contrary to the gloom and doom on Free Republic whete many feared the death of Israel at the hands of Egypt. Just the opposite has occurred.

We learned yesterday of UAE air strikes believed to be from Egyptian bases on Libya. The UAE planes had to traverse SaUdi air sPACE so the strikes had Saudi tacit approval.

We have spent lots of money training the forces of the GCC and Egypt. It seems to be paying off.

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