From Haaretz:
Approximately 15,000 armed Palestinians. That's the size of the military force the Israel Defense Forces will face if a major operation in the Gaza Strip goes forward. These militants, from various Hamas factions, will presumably be aided by a few thousand militants from other Palestinian groups.
For two years Hamas, with Iranian assistance, has been working hard on developing its military power, using Hezbollah as a model.
Gaza Palestinians are preparing to step up their offensive, with rockets and mortar shells directed at Israel's civilian population in the south, as well as their defense, digging in to retard the IDF's progress and cause heavy Israeli casualties.
Nevertheless, military experts in Israel and the West believe the IDF is capable of retaking Gaza. Israeli reservations about a broad military operation, therefore, are mainly linked to the question of what happens afterward, when the IDF controls a large area that it doesn't want and is in constant friction with terrorists and the civilian population.
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My Comment: The Israelis have the superior firepower which can easily nullify any Hamas advantage. The problem is that the Israeli leadership does not have the will to use it, nor the stomach to accept high civilian casulaties from the Gaza side in the event that this firepower is used.
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