Since October 7, Israel has been fighting a war unlike any in modern history — against a terror group that hides in hospitals, stores weapons in schools, and holds hostages underground. The IDF is operating under intense pressure, with international demands for zero civilian casualties, blocked operations in key Hamas strongholds, and constant pauses driven more by perception than fact.

Urban warfare expert John Spencer joins Aviva Klompas to explain what’s really happening on the ground in Gaza. He’s been inside Hamas’s tunnels, studied the world’s most complex battlefields, and advised top U.S. generals. Together, they unpack the realities of urban combat, the misinformation war playing out across social media, and what the world gets dangerously wrong about how Israel is fighting.

Guest Bio:

John Spencer is an award-winning scholar, internationally recognized expert and advisor on urban warfare, military strategy, tactics, and other related topics. Considered one of the world’s leading experts on urban warfare, he served as an advisor to the top four-star general and other senior leaders in the U.S. Army as part of strategic research groups from the Pentagon to the United States Military Academy. John currently serves as the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, Co-Director of the Urban Warfare Project, and host of the Urban Warfare Project podcast.

Recent Articles from John Spencer:
The lies behind the Gaza casualty figures and the thousands of names removed without explanation

How Hamas Can Be Destroyed With Military Force