Israeli forces created plans to reconquer Gaza to ultimately defeat Hamas, paving the way for the long-term occupation of the besieged enclave.
The proposal has not yet been approved by Israeli security cabinet – was formulated by the new Israeli Secretary of Defense, with the unofficial support of far-right ministers who have called for dramatically tougher tactics to combat extremist groups, saying several have explained the plan.
Two officials said the plan was made possible with President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The White House has released its Biden administration’s claim that Israel has not reoccupied Gaza or the territory of its Annex.
“The previous administration wanted us to end the war. Trump wants us to win the war,” said a third Israeli official. “There’s also American American interest in defeating Hamas.”
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According to the plan, the IDF will call several combat divisions to reinfringe and suppress Hamas, control the wide area of the enclave, and force the territory’s 2.2 million population into a small human belt along the Mediterranean coast.
Israeli forces will then control Gaza, and these officials said they are effectively reoccupying the fever territory 20 years after it retreated. Israel occupied the enclave for about 40 years until 2005 after winning it in the war of 1967.
Such a plan will uproot millions of Palestinian civilians and rely on food aid to survive, surrounded by even smaller ranges of barren land. It also risks causing a long rebellion against the Israeli army. Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
One person familiar with deliberations said Israel could take over the distribution of all humanitarian aid, and recently assessed the number of calories each Palestinian needs. Another said the military is considering options such as distributing aid directly or through private contractors to prevent Hamas from profiting.
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The United Nations said Monday it would withdraw a third of international staff from Gaza after Israeli tanks determined last week that they fired shells at the UN compound, killing European aid workers and injuring five other people. The IDF refused to attack the compound.
The updated plan of invasion, first reported by the Haaretz newspaper, will be a change from the way Israel indicted war under former security authorities, including former Defence Minister Joa Garant and recently retired Chief Helji Halevi.
Until now, Israeli approaches have concentrated on high-intensity combat seizures, but their forces have repeatedly raided various areas of the strip to eradicate Hamas remnants and then leave.
“It’s a completely different kind of combat,” said one senior military reserve, who has now prepared for months of combat operations, including “combat, victory, management.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy Hamas after the attacks by extremist groups on Israel on October 7, 2023. Local officials have killed 1,200 people and about 250 people have been taken hostage.
According to local officials, Israeli forces laid waste in many of the enclaves, causing a humanitarian crisis, killing more than 50,000 Palestinians.
Meanwhile, the IDF said it had dismantled most of Hamas’ military structures, destroyed much of the underground tunnel network, and killed many of its leadership, including Gaza’s chief Yahyasinwar and Mohammed Deif, who plotted the October 7 attack.
However, in late January, after Israel had to agree to a fragile ceasefire to secure hostage releases in exchange for a halt of combat, Hamas again began to reassert control on the strip.
The vote supports a deal that most Israelis support the war and free the remaining 59 hostages in Gaza, but it is believed that less than half of them are still alive – Israel cannot remove Hamas’ complete galvanized criticism of the former security chief by Netanyahu’s allies.
Now, Israeli political and military officials have made it clear that the goal is to retain territory and destroy Hamas as a force of both military and governance.
Earlier this month, influential far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israeli soldiers should prepare for a long battle to “finish their jobs.” “Gaza is not the same Gaza that we have come to know in the last few decades,” he told Israeli public radio.
However, defense analysts say it is unclear whether the IDF can achieve these goals in the months given that it was exhausted among existing forces, and the need to deploy what they say, is a division of at least four combat soldiers.
Israel made its first move last week, breaking the ceasefire with a catastrophic air strike campaign across Gaza and a resumption of ground operations.
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Preliminary figures from Palestinian health authorities show that the majority of women and children killed 400 people last Tuesday alone.
The IDF said it was targeting Hamas political and military figures, including Ismail Barhoum, the group’s senior leader in political office, in an air attack at the Nasser Medical Complex on Sunday.
“The bombing destroyed all the beds and all areas of the male surgical ward,” said Ferose Sidva, an American trauma surgeon who volunteers in Nasser.
Nasser was dealing with an influx of injured patients, but many of his children added Sidwa.
Additional report by Heba Saleh of Cairo. Mapping by Stephen Bernard and visualizing data by Aditi Bandari
