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The Gaza Trap: One Israeli Soldier Recalls Last Ground War

Israeli soldier preapring to enter Gaza on July 17.
Israeli soldier preapring to enter Gaza on July 17.
Céline Lussato

JERUSALEM — Nobody wanted to believe it. Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet had of course called up reservists and warned the 100,000 inhabitants of Gaza who lived near the border not to stay long.

But for most Israeli political analysts, this had appeared to be mainly an exercise in communications. And everything pointed to their being right in thinking that way.

The Israeli Prime Minister himself showed signs of hesitation and almost of good will towards the Palestinians by accepting Egypt’s successive cease fire offers.

He did deploy his air and naval forces in "Operation Protective Edge" in retaliation for Hamas strikes that had reached as far as the large city of Haifa in the north of Israel. But "Bibi" seemed little inclined to start a ground offensive which would be very risky for soldiers whose death — or worse, abduction — would be traumatic for Israelis.

The experience of Operation Cast Lead, which began in December 2008, still lingers in Israel's memory. Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas and hence one of the most dangerous and unpredictable for combatants in a local war.

Without a military objective

Ethan, a reservist who took part in Operation Cast Lead, recalls the events of five-plus years ago: “To avoid risk to human life, in fact what they sent us on was a punitive operation."

He shares his memories in a Jerusalem café.

"An armed operation has by definition an objective that is not only clearly outlined but is also, in the opinion of the general staff, considered to be attainable," the young war veteran explains. "But what is it in Gaza? There isn’t a single mission there that can be accomplished by a ground offensive."

He recalls how his unit was assigned to a small zone several kilometers west of the Karni crossing, on a hill at an altitude of about 300 meters. "When we got there, all the people who lived there had already cleared out," he said.

Contrary to what he’d thought at the beginning, Ethan’s unit was not there to search, confiscate weapons, and make arrests which would have put the soldiers at considerable risk. “What they expected of us was that we raze the zone. The ground trembled the whole time as houses were destroyed one after the other …"

The young father continues: "And there were indeed traps in some of them, hidden explosives that caused second explosions and tunnels that could have swallowed us up."

The idea was to cause as much damage as possible, to make Hamas understand "don’t play this game with us anymore." But the dangerous nature of the operation led to disgrace."

The army had been given instructions to return quickly and without losses so the rules of engagement were changed. “Anybody on a roof was a legitimate target, for example. So there was no need to warn them or to have proof that they were armed and represented a threat."

The rule "don’t shoot when in doubt" was applied in the inverse. "There, it was: If there’s any doubt, shoot. It was the cause of a lot of civilian deaths but also losses in our ranks down to friendly fire."

It was just the kind of military quagmire that Netanyahu appeared to want to avoid, until Thursday night.

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LGBTQ Plus

My Wife, My Boyfriend — And Grandkids: A Careful Coming Out For China's Gay Seniors

A series of interviews in Wuhan with aging gay men — all currently or formerly married to women — reveals a hidden story of how Chinese LGBTQ culture is gradually emerging from the shadows.

Image of two senior men playing chinese Checkers.

A friendly game of Checkers in Dongcheng, Beijing, China.

Wang Er

WUHAN — " What do you think of that guy sitting there, across from us? He's good looking."

" Then you should go and talk to him."

“ Too bad that I am old..."

Grandpa Shen was born in 1933. He says that for the past 40 years, he's been "repackaged," a Chinese expression for having come out as gay. Before his wife died when he was 50, Grandpa Shen says he was was a "standard" straight Chinese man. After serving in the army, he began working in a factory, and dated many women and evenutually got married.

"Becoming gay is nothing special, I found it very natural." Grandpa Shen says he discovered his homosexuality at the Martyrs' Square in Wuhan, a well-known gay men's gathering place.

✉️ You can receive our LGBTQ+ International roundup every week directly in your inbox. Subscribe here.

Wuhan used to have different such ways for LGBTQ+ to meet: newspaper columns, riversides, public toilets, bridges and baths to name but a few. With urbanization, many of these locations have disappeared. The transformation of Martyrs' Square into a park has gradually become a place frequented by middle-aged and older gay people in Wuhan, where they play cards and chat and make friends. There are also "comrades" (Chinese slang for gay) from outside the city who come to visit.

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