Almost immediately after Hamas launched its brutal set of terrorist attacks in Israel, it became clear that the Israel Defense Forces would respond militarily. That meant a campaign against Hamas targets in Gaza. Because of Gaza's heavily urban terrain and the specific location of Hamas military forces, the fight has occurred—and will continue to occur—in deeply challenging environments for military forces, places where the law of armed conflict's provisions aimed at protecting civilians must be followed. To understand the specific measures in place to do so, John Spencer is joined on this episode by Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces. He describes the range of mechanisms adopted by Israeli forces to minimize incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, and damage to civilian property in urban warfare.
What do engineers bring to urban operations? How do the basic capabilities resident in engineer units—like those in the US Army—enable maneuver forces to...
On November 26, 2008, ten Pakistan-based terrorists simultaneously attacked and sieged multiple sites across the megacity of Mumbai, India. The world watched in horror...
In this episode, Canadian Army Major Jayson Geroux joins to discuss the 1943 Battle of Ortona. Sometimes called the “Italian Stalingrad,” the battle took...