The Israeli army’s death toll in Gaza is already almost twice as high as during a ground offensive in 2014, a reflection of how far it has pushed into the enclave and of Hamas’ effective use of guerrilla tactics and an expanded arsenal, Reuters reports.

Israeli military experts, an Israeli commander, and a Hamas source described how the Palestinian group has used a big weapons stockpile, its knowledge of the terrain, and a vast tunnel network to turn Gaza’s streets into a deadly maze.

At their disposal, they have arms ranging from drones rigged with grenades to anti-tank weapons with powerful twin charges.

That compares with 66 in the 2014 conflict, when Israel launched a more limited three-week ground incursion but the goal then was not to eliminate Hamas.

“There is no comparing the scope of this war to 2014, when our forces mostly operated no deeper than a kilometre inside Gaza,” said Yaacov Amidror, a retired Israeli major-general and former national security adviser who is now at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA).

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