naraburns nihil supernum
1yr ago
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Israel-Gaza Megathread #1
This is a megathread for any posts on the conflict between (so far, and so far as I know) Hamas and the Israeli government, as well as related geopolitics. Culture War thread rules apply.
While tunnels are probably a best case scenario for using poison gas, Israel probably doesn’t have chemical weapons stockpiled in the necessary quantities or the ability to rapidly fabricate it in the amounts necessary. Remember clearing a tunnel system that way entails dumping tons and tons(a gas grenade or three won’t cut it) of sarin or vx or mustard gas down ventilation shafts, which has to be deployable in a war zone in a way that’s safe for the operator. They might be able to use it to clear a limited branch of the tunnels, but Hamas has probably stockpiled gas masks even if they don’t have enough for everyone, so you’re not taking them out in one fell swoop and they can still defend localized areas.
Why would they bother violating treaties on chemical weapons when incendiaries will work as well and can't be defeated with gas masks or even self-contained oxygen?
Well yeah, that’s my point- chemical weapons aren’t enough of a war-winning weapon compared to the alternatives for Israel to bother violating treaties over.
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Notes -
While tunnels are probably a best case scenario for using poison gas, Israel probably doesn’t have chemical weapons stockpiled in the necessary quantities or the ability to rapidly fabricate it in the amounts necessary. Remember clearing a tunnel system that way entails dumping tons and tons(a gas grenade or three won’t cut it) of sarin or vx or mustard gas down ventilation shafts, which has to be deployable in a war zone in a way that’s safe for the operator. They might be able to use it to clear a limited branch of the tunnels, but Hamas has probably stockpiled gas masks even if they don’t have enough for everyone, so you’re not taking them out in one fell swoop and they can still defend localized areas.
Why would they bother violating treaties on chemical weapons when incendiaries will work as well and can't be defeated with gas masks or even self-contained oxygen?
Well yeah, that’s my point- chemical weapons aren’t enough of a war-winning weapon compared to the alternatives for Israel to bother violating treaties over.
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