Hamas Surprise Attack On Israel Similar To Pakistan Action During Kargil: Ex-Army Chief VP Malik

New Delhi: Former Army Chief General Ved Prakash Malik (Retd.), who served as the Indian Army Chief during the Kargil War of 1999, has said the manner in which Palestinian militant outfit Hamas launched an attack against Israel on October 7 bears resemblance to what Pakistan did during the Kargil War, intruding into the Indian territory in a surprise move by occupying some of the strategic heights in the Kargil region.

Speaking exclusively to ABP LIVE, Gen Malik said one of the big lessons that the Indian Army as well as armed forces around the world need to learn is the “element of surprise” and the requirement of remaining alert all the time.

“Surprise is always possible … Don't forget what happened to us in Kargil. It happened to us. One big lesson is that despite all the technologies you've got and yet it is possible for the terrorist to surprise you. The adversary will find a counter to whAatever you do. While I believe we should have technology and that will perhaps facilitate identity but in this case when we are talking of intelligence, it's not only technology, it is also the mindset at that moment,” said the former Chief of Army Staff, who is also the author of Kargil: From Surprise To Victory.

The Israel-Hamas war, which entered its 19th day Wednesday, is expected to become fiercer with the Benjamin Netanyahu government planning to go in for a full-fledged ground invasion in Gaza. The unabated bombings by Israeli forces on the besieged Gaza Strip has so far claimed nearly 6,000 lives. Israel is doing this in response to a sudden attack launched by Hamas on October 7 during a religious holiday.

Drawing an analogy to the October 7 incident, the former Army Chief said India was also similarly taken aback and everyone refused to believe that the Pakistan Army could start an episode like the Kargil War, which began in May 1999 just months after India and Pakistan had signed the Lahore Declaration in February of that year.

“After signing the Lahore Agreement, nobody would believe that Pakistan Army would be indulging in anything like this. It took me a long time to convince the Prime Minister and the CCS (Cabinet Committee on Security) that we were fighting not the Pakistani jihadi elements but we were fighting the Pakistan Army,” said Gen Malik.

According to the ex-Army Chief, Pakistan took advantage of certain factors that the Indian Army was facing at that time such as non availability of surveillance equipment, wide distances between the mountain posts and their radio deception plan. Besides, Malik said, the Indian Army were given reports from the intelligence establishment which stated that Pakistan was not in a position to wage war with India. Also, the political mindset after Lahore Agreement was that Pakistan cannot attack India, which was subsequently proven incorrect.

He added: “It took me a long time to convince them. All reports spoke about jihadi action. Some still say that. I had solid proof that every one of them were part of the Pakistan Army. In fact, when some senior officers of Pakistan Army were asked by the Americans they said what militants, we had no jihadi elements in this area at all at that time. They were all part of the army.”

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'Sophisticated Weaponry Now In Hands Of Terrorists’

According to Gen Malik, some of the other lessons that need to be learnt from the ongoing war in Gaza as well as from the Russia-Ukraine war, which has been going on since February 2022, is that modern and sophisticated weaponry has now reached the hands of terrorist organisations too apart from the conventional armies around the world. "The spectrum of wars and conflicts has expanded over the years. Whatever sophisticated weaponry that we had earlier is now not only with the conventional armed forces but it has also reached the hands of the terrorists. And, the capability of the terrorists over the years has increased. That I think is a major change that has taken place in the last few years.” 

He emphasised: “Terrorist organisations like the Hamas, or Hezbollah, or even the LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) and JeM (Jaish-e-Muhamed), they do get assistance from some countries and they get steady supplies of those. As a result, their capabilities with the support of those states have increased. For the conventional forces, this has now become a big problem. Because, in a conventional war you know who the enemy is and you take action accordingly. There are laws of war and those are followed. But when you are dealing with terrorists, they do not follow any law.”

Malik believes that armed forces across all countries should learn from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that the capabilities of terrorist organisations have “improved”.

“The kind of action Hamas did against Israel, nobody expected this kind of an action. For people to come over land, by air and from sea and then not only kill so many civilians as well as people from the armed forces, kidnap them and take them away as hostages — that kind of a capability which they have acquired and implemented, is a big lesson for all that the terrorists organisations capabilities have improved quite a lot. Despite all the gadgetry and the technical know-how that the Israelis had, they were taken by surprise,” he said.

He stressed: “There is absolutely no doubt that this was an intelligence failure. The war has been going on for several days now. It was quite expected that the Israeli forces would not sit quietly and retaliate, and knowing what they had been doing earlier, this kind of a severe action from their side to not only get their hostages back but also to teach a lesson to Hamas was expected.”

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‘Ground Invasion Of Gaza By Israel May Lead To More Casualties’

The former COAS also believes that the planned ground invasion of Gaza by Israeli forces may lead to more casualties while the possibility of completely eliminating Hamas remains low.

“If they (Israel) undertake ground invasion, the casualties will be much higher. Fighting in a built-up area is never easy so there will be casualties on both sides and there will be a lot more distraction. Unless the hostages are freed, they will have to carry out ground action. This will cause much more problems... Once they go in then there will be very heavy casualties on both sides. And the other problem is, unless Hamas free the hostages that they have got, this fight will carry on. I don't think the Israeli forces will give it up,” he said.

“Israeli PM Netanyahu has said they will eliminate Hamas. But on the ground, if it will be possible or not, I have my doubts about it. While action to get their hostages back and to punish Hamas is one thing, but to be able to eliminate Hamas altogether is another. Hamas' leadership is not only in Gaza, they are all over in Arab countries. So if the leadership is roaming around then how can you finish Hamas? So, the organisation will continue to function,” Gen Malik added. 

“In order to remove terrorism you have to eliminate the leadership ... The leadership has to be eliminated otherwise the ideology and you will find somebody who will be supporting that cause and then it rises again. Once the major part of Hamas is not their with the Palestinians in Gaza or in the West Bank then you will find that the civilian government may come up again. At the moment, the Hamas-supported civilian government is in control. But when their foot soldiers will be gone from the ground, maybe the opposition may come back. But it also depends on how the international community gets into this. They will have to,” he said.

According to the ex-Army Chief, Gaza has become a “trap” for all — Israelis, Palestinians and particularly Hamas.

“Another big problem is, there is a limit to what armed forces can take in such a situation. I personally call Gaza today a trap for Hamas, Palestinians as well as for Israelis also. They have all got into the trap, particularly after the distraction of the hospital bombing in which over 500 got killed,” he said.

On October 17, Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City was subjected to a deadly attack. According to Palestinian authorities, nearly 500 people died in that, and several were injured. Both Israel and Palestinian have blamed each other for the incident. A probe is currently on.

“One is now looking at what kind of rules of engagement the Israelis will follow because the world doesn't want them to cause any collateral damage. And without causing  any collateral damage how do you eliminate Hamas? How do you free your own people in a place like Gaza? They are now trapped in Gaza, there is no way that they (the Palestinians) can get out. Egypt will not open their gates for them,” he said.