IDF: It Will Take Many Years to Restore Bomb-Wracked Gaza

Ha'aretz, January 7, 2009 - ....The [Israeli military] officer acknowledged that the ground offensive is causing a great deal of damage, not only to Hamas, but also against civilian infrastructure. "It will take many years in order to restore this area to what it was before," he said....

"When we suspect that a Palestinian fighter is hiding in a house, we shoot it with a missile and then with two tank shells, and then a bulldozer hits the wall. It causes damage but it prevents the loss of life among soldiers."

He emphasized that his forces "entered the Gaza Strip [Ed.: one of the most densely populated areas in the world] like in a war and not a routine security operation. Hamas has avoided confronting us directly because of the firepower that was used when we went in. It had an initial shock effect and broke down orderly resistance. We do not see battalion- or company-size units fighting against us, but much smaller pockets of resistance."....