Since Hamas’ murderous attack, the Israeli army has been heavily bombing the Gaza Strip. At the same time, tens of thousands of soldiers were concentrated around the coastal strip. Virtually all observers expect Israel to launch a ground offensive in the coming days. But what exactly does this aim to achieve? And what should come after that?
Christian Meier
Political correspondent for the Middle East and Northeast Africa.
Israel’s political and military leadership found concise words on the question of war aims in recent days – but at the same time it always remained vague. On the day of Hamas’ surprise attack, penultimate Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a late-night televised speech that Israel would “destroy Hamas’ capabilities.” This formula has been used in variations ever since. It was said that Hamas in the Gaza Strip should never again pose a threat to Israel. More recently, Netanyahu said in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday night that Israel’s goal was to dismantle Hamas’ “military and governance capabilities,” according to a statement from his office.
Hamas prepared to defend itself
But this does not necessarily mean the complete end of the Islamic organization, which also has a charitable and political arm. However, Israeli politicians and military officials have repeatedly announced that the aim is to destroy Hamas as a whole – and its cadres as well. “Every member of Hamas is a dead man,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday. In particular, the organization’s political and military leaders in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, are on Israel’s hit list. Defense Minister Joav Gallant said on Sunday that unless all Hamas officials were killed, “we would not accomplish the mission.”
After the attack apparently meticulously planned by the Islamists, Israel must assume that Hamas also prepared to defend the Gaza Strip. Since the Israeli military operation “Cast Lead” in the winter of 2008-2009, with intense fighting in the streets of Gaza, Hamas has learned a lot, the American think tank Soufan Center wrote in an analysis on Monday. It also benefits from Iranian support through money, weapons, training and technology transfer, which has allowed it to use drones in a targeted manner. Hamas will use homemade bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and “other asymmetric means to undermine Israel’s superior conventional military capabilities.” They will also seek to use the many tunnels in the Gaza Strip to their advantage.
To avoid this, the army is preparing its ground offensive in detail. According to Israeli media reports, battalion commanders flew over the Gaza Strip to get an aerial look at the areas where they will fight. The ongoing heavy bombardment was intended to “eliminate as many threats as possible,” said Air Force chief Tomer Bar. Ground troops must have freedom of movement when deployed. For this reason, the army is also trying to get the Palestinian population to abandon the northern Gaza Strip, where Hamas’ main facilities are believed to be located.
Should Abbas take control?
The answer to the question of what might come next is much less clear than the intended objective of toppling Hamas in the Gaza Strip, destroying its military infrastructure and eliminating its leadership. US President Joe Biden has warned Israel against becoming an occupying power in the Gaza Strip again, as was the case between 1967 and 1994 and in parts until 2005. This would be a “big mistake”, Biden said in a television interview broadcast on weekend.