GAZA CITY IS CURRENTLY BEING ROCKED BY A SERIES OF LOUD EXPLOSIONS.

JOINING ME NOW ON THIS IS WESLEY CLARK, A RETIRED FOUR-STAR GENERAL IN THE U.S. MILITARY.

HE SERVED AS A SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER OF NATO AND THE COMMANDER OF U.S. SOUTHERN COMMAND.

GENERAL, SO GREAT TO HAVE YOU ON ESPECIALLY NOW GIVEN WE'RE SEEING AN INCREASE IN SOME SORT OF TARGETED ASSAULT INTO GAZA.

WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THIS?

AND COULD IT BE WHAT THE DEFENSE MINISTER HAD WARNED JUST YESTERDAY OF THE SIGNS OF THE THIRD WAVE OF THEIR RESPONSE?

>> WELL, I THINK THIS IS PART OF THE ISRAELI WHAT THEY CALL SHAPING OPERATIONS.

SO THIS IS A COMBINATION OF EFFORTS TO GO AFTER SOME HIGH-VALUED TARGETS THAT COULD IMPEDE AN INCURSION.

ITS AN EFFORT OF FEINTING AND SHOWING DIFFERENT ASPECTS TO HAMAS.

IT'S A CHANCE TO CHECK HAMAS REACTIONS.

AND SO ALL OF THAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW PREPARATORY TO A MAJOR GROUND OFFENSIVE.

>> AND IS THIS SOMETHING THAT SUGGESTS TO YOU THIS GROUND OFFENSIVE WILL BE IN LARGE IN SCALE AS EVERYONE FROM THE DEFENSE MINISTER AND PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU HAD WARNED IN THE DAYS IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE OCTOBER 7th ATTACK OR DO YOU THINK THIS COULD BE A SMALLER SCALE INCURSION GIVEN SOME OF THE INTRICKACIES WITH THE PRESSURE FROM THE UNITED STATES AND WEST AND PERHAPS A CHANGE IN STRATEGY FROM ISRAELI FORCES?

>> YOU KNOW, IT'S DIFFICULT TO SPECULATE WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE INSIDE AT THE CLASSIFIED LEVEL, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME ISRAEL IS GOING TO GO AHEAD WITH THIS OFFENSIVE.

NOW, HOW IT UNFOLDS IS GOING TO BE VERY INTERESTING BECAUSE TYPICALLY THE PATTERN IN AN URBAN ACTION IS YOU RUSH IN, YOU MAKE A LOT OF HEADWAY, AND THEN EVERYTHING SLOWS DOWN, YOU GET BOGGED DOWN, YOU'RE USING A LOT MORE AMMUNITION, YOU'RE TAKING CASUALTIES.

THE LOGISTICS ARE DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF BLOW DOWN AND RUBBLE IN THE STREETS.

AND IT SLOWS DOWN.

AND THAT'S THE PATTERN OF ALMOST EVERY URBAN OPERATION.

IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THE ISRAELIS WILL SET A DIFFERENT PATTERN.

SO, FOR EXAMPLE, THEY COULD CONCENTRATE ONLY ON A SMALL SECTION OF GAZA WITH THEIR GROUND TROOPS, CLEAN IT, STAY WITH IT, AND THEN START TO REBUILD IT.

EVEN BRINGING IN GAZANS BACK TO THE AREA IN WHICH THEY LIVED.

AND THIS COULD TAKE MANY MONTHS OF GRADUALLY SQUEEZING HAMAS INTO A SMALLER AREA.

THERE'S ONE THING THAT'S REALLY DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS OPERATION THAN WHAT THE AMERICANS DID IN IRAQ.

AND THAT IS WHEN WE WERE GOING INTO SYRIA OR FULUGEA OR ANY OF THESE OTHER CITIES WE WENT INTO THE IDEA WAS TO DRIVE OUT THE TERRORISTS.

HERE THE IDEA IS TO PIN THE TERRORISTS AND ELIMINATE THEM, ELIMINATE HAMAS.

THERE'S NO ESCAPE ROUTE FOR HAMAS HERE.

THIS WILL BE A BATTLE TO THE DEATH FOR HAMAS IF THE ISRAELIS FOLLOW THROUGH ON WHAT'S BEEN ANNOUNCED.

IT'LL BE A CHALLENGE TO SET -- GO AHEAD.

>> I WAS GOING TO SAY ANOTHER DIFFERENCE IS THAT THIS IS NOT THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY FROM AMERICAN BORDERS.

THIS IS LITERALLY JUST KILOMETERS AWAY FROM ISRAEL'S BORDERS.

AND I'M CURIOUS TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW THESE TUNNELS THAT WE HAVE REPORTED IN GREAT LENGTH UPON AND THE DETAIL IN THESE TUNNELS AND THE AMOUNT OF INVESTMENTS THAT HAMAS HAS MADE INTO BUILDING THEM IMPACTS WHAT THIS OFFENSIVE MAY LOOK LIKE.

>> WELL, WE'VE SEEN SOME INDICATIONS THAT THE ISRAELIS HAVE A PARTIAL NETWORK DIAGRAM OF THE TUNNELS.

WE DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S COMPLETE, AND THEY DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S COMPLETE.

SO I THINK THE ISRAELI'S BEST APPROACH AT LEAST THE ONE I WOULD BE ADVOCATING IF I WERE INSIDE ON THIS IS TAKE IT STEP BY STEP.

WHEN YOU'RE WORKING ABOVE GROUND TO CLEAR THE BUILDINGS OF THE ENEMY, YOU'VE GOT TO WORK BELOW GROUND SIMULTANEOUSLY.

AND YOU'VE GOT TO HOLD IT, SO YOU DON'T WANT THE ENEMY POPPING OUT FROM A TUNNEL BEHIND YOU AND KNOCKING OFF FUEL TRUCKS AND LOGISTICS AND INNOCENT PEOPLE BACK THERE.

YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE IT STEP BY STEP, AND THE TUNNELS ARE BIG PART OF THAT.

SO THEY'RE GOING HAVE TO GO INTO THE TUNNELS.

THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TRY TO MAP THEM OUT.

THEY MAY BE USING ROBOTS, MAY BE USING UNMANNED VEHICLES DOWN IN THOSE TUNNELS.

THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES THAT CAN BE USED IN ADDITION TO WALKING THROUGH THE TUMS WITH TROOPS AND WEAPONS.

BUT THEY'RE GOING TO WORK IT VERY SYSTEMATICALLY TO MAKE IT A SUCCESSFUL OPERATION.

>> SO THUS FAR WE HAVE SEEN A NUMBER OF TARGETED RAIDS INTO GAZA, AND THE IDF REPORTING THAT THEY'VE KILLED A COUPLE AT LEAST HIGH RANKING HAMAS OFFICIALS AND LEADERS THERE, AT LEAST RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT THEY SAY THEIR ROLE IN THE OCTOBER 7th ATTACKS.

HOW EFFECTIVE HAVE THOSE TARGETED RAIDS BEEN THUS FAR IN YOUR VIEW?

>> WELL, THE TARGETED RAIDS MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN DIRECTED PRIMARILY TO KILL INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE.

THEY ALSO MAY SHOW A DECEIVING PATTERN TO THE -- TO HAMAS ON WHERE ISRAELIS COULD GO IN.

THEY MAY BE A TEST OF ISRAELI BREACHING EQUIPMENT WHERE THEY GO IN THROUGH THE FENCE.

AND THERE MAY BE A CHECK OF HOW HAMAS IS GOING TO DEFEND THESE AVENUES OF APPROACH THAT THE ISRAELIS ARE GOING TO USE.

SO A LOT OF THINGS COULD HAPPEN.

ONE THING WE DO KNOW IS WHEN YOU TAKE OUT HIGH RANKING MEMBERS OF AN ORGANIZATION, IT DOES HAVE AN IMPACT RIGHT AWAY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ORGANIZATION.

BUT OVER TIME, DAYS, WEEKS, MONTHS, OTHER LEADERS STEP IN.

THEY MAY NOT BE QUITE AS SKILLED, BUT THE STRUCTURE OF THE ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN PRETTY RESILIENT IN OUR EXPERIENCES WITH THESE ORGANIZATIONS LIKE HAMAS.