An interesting piece by Andrew Axuum a retired U.S army officer and ME scholar about Israel, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah.
The notion of an indomitable Israel Defense Forces is overdue for a revision.
www.theatlantic.com
In summary:
1. While the IDF professional core is extremely polished and capable, the Israeli army is and remains a conscript/reservists-based army, the reservists are neither particularly well trained nor well disciplined by American standards.
2. Today Israel faces highly disciplined and motivated nonstate foes in southern Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, and its military does not seem to have a clear advantage over them at the unit level.
3. The segregation of Palestinians and the erection of walls helped the IDF to be in the dark about HAMAS movements.
4. The few Hezbollah fighters he met in 2006, for the most part, as motivated, well-trained, and disciplined. Those who fought in the 2006 war with Israel retained a certain amount of wary respect for the U.S. military but held their Israeli adversaries in contempt. They had seen Israeli soldiers in action—and had not been impressed.
5. IDF has discipline issues,: In 2006, Hezbollah was able to locate Israeli positions by intercepting Israeli reservists calling home on their mobile phones.
6. Hezbollah fighters he interviewed also give little appreciation when it comes to Iran : "A friend of mine questioned a Hezbollah fighter after 2006 about the training he had received from Iran, and his interlocutor scoffed in reply, “Iran? When was the last time those guys won a war?”