Israel's ground invasion of Gaza will be way more deadly than the 'absolute hell' US Marines experienced in Fallujah, Iraq, geopolitical expert says

• Israel has indicated it will soon begin a ground offensive into Gaza.
• A geopolitical expert who embedded with US Marines in Fallujah said it will be "absolute hell."

Israel's anticipated ground invasion of Gaza will be far more destructive and difficult than the "absolute hell" that US Marines experienced in Fallujah in Iraq, a geopolitical expert said.

"I see this as just absolute hell and magnified by many times,"journalist and author Robert D. Kaplan, who embedded with the Marines in Fallujah in April 2004, told the podcast Hub Dialogues.

"Based on what I experienced in Fallujah is that because you're dealing with hardened, as we know, well-trained and disciplined adversaries, this can't be anything but a mess."

Kaplan was discussing what became known as the First Battle of Fallujah, code-named Operation Vigilant Resolve, an assault on the central Iraqi city and a hotbed of the insurgency, launched following the death and mutilation of four US contractors before their burned corpses were hung over a bridge crossing.

The event broadcast globally caused great anger in the US.Troops of the 1st Marine Division attempted to capture the city. After three weeks of fighting, 27 US servicemen lay dead, and an estimated 600 Iraqi civilians and 200 insurgents were killed.

Kaplan noted that any ground invasion of Gaza will also likely to result in huge civilian casualties.

Gaza is one of the most densely populated places in the world, with over two million people living in a strip spanning 140 square miles.

"Keep in mind that Fallujah at the time was far less densely populated than Gaza is now. It had no underground tunnels or anything like that," he said. "It was nothing like apartment houses right next to each other which you have in Gaza City. I don't see how it can be done."

He said the Marines' adversaries in Fallujah were more familiar with the urban terrain, and fire would often come from multiple directions.

While the Marines only targeted young men with guns in Fallujah, there was no way to avoid hitting civilians, he said, which will likely be the same in Gaza.

Hamas has the added advantage of a well-developed tunnel network under the strip, which they use to smuggle weapons and move around undetected.

He said that his experience in Fallujah was one of "absolute hell," despite it being on paper "far less daunting than what the Israelis face."

He said an offensive in Gaza would be far more complex despite massive advancements in war technology and Israel having more air cover than the Marines did.

Kaplan said that Israeli forces must find "the sweet spot between the restoration of deterrence and all-out Stalingrad-style warfare."

He said that what could be more manageable would be to avoid an all-out Russian-style invasion. Instead, several units could enter Gaza with targeted objectives rather than trying to take the whole city.

Indeed, in the Second Battle of Fallujah in November of 2004, US-led forces used more sophisticated tactics. The city was occupied after intense fighting, and two-thirds of its 300,000 population had fled.

Israeli officials have signaled that they are prepared to imminently begin a ground offensive into northern Gaza to root out Hamas militants following a deadly attack by the group on October 7.

The Hamas attacks killed at least 1,400 Israelis, and subsequent Israeli air strikes have killed more than 3,000 Palestinians, per Reuters.

Hamas also took over 200 hostages to Gaza, and it is unclear where they are being held.

Residents of northern Gaza have been fleeing south after the Israel Defense Forces gave an evacuation order, resulting in one million people being internally displaced, per UN estimates.

Israel has called up some 360,000 reservists following the Hamas attacks, and officials have indicated that the offensive will begin soon and will be "long and intense."