![]() ![]() ![]() Iran has a population ten times larger than Israel’s, from which to draw its armed forces, but much of its military hardware is of dubious condition – due to the arms embargo in place since in various forms since 1979. While a military strike on Iranian nuclear sites is far from certain, the possibility of a confrontation looms nonetheless. A look at the comparative strengths of the Iranian and Israeli forces reveals discrepancies in both equipment, capabilities and numbers of enlisted troops. Regardless, Western powers generally agree that Iran does not yet have a nuclear weapon and is at least many, many months away from having a deliverable warhead – if the development of one is indeed its goal. Heavy casualties are likely to increase international pressure on Israel to halt its biggest operation in the Gaza Strip in four decades, fighting that holds significant political risks for Israeli leaders ahead of a February 10 national election.Israel, the US, and some European powers have alleged that Iran aims to build nuclear weapons to complement its conventional arms, but Tehran says its current programme is for peaceful, civilian purposes. Wearing night-vision goggles on their helmets and camouflage paint on their faces, Israeli ground troops entered the Gaza Strip along with columns of tanks that pushed into the coastal territory from four points. Israel said it called up tens of thousands of reservists and the military’s chief spokesman estimated the operation in the Hamas-run enclave could take “many long days.” Israeli tanks killed seven Gazans at the onset of the night-time invasion, bringing the Palestinian death toll since December 27 to more than 450, medical officials said. Israeli troops clashed with Hamas fighters as they advanced into Gaza on Saturday in the first ground action of an eight-day offensive on the Palestinian enclave, a witness and the Israeli army said. Israeli soldiers advance near the border with northern Gaza during a ground operation by the Israeli army late January 3, 2009. ![]()
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