Israeli broadcaster N12 reported, citing military circles, that the next step would be to withdraw troops mainly to a buffer zone about a kilometer wide in the Gaza Strip, close to the border fence with Israel. In the new phase, more selective deployments of land and naval troops, as well as the air force, are planned against Hamas.
Other reports said the military believed the period of high intensity was over. Hamas' positions must now be targeted. It's unclear when exactly the rumor phase will begin and how long it will last.
Portal/Violeta Santos Moura Israel launched a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip two months ago in response to the Hamas attack
In early December, US media reported, citing government officials, that Israel would maintain its offensive until the end of January, but would then shift to a “less intense and highly localized strategy.” Reports spoke of increased US pressure because of the thousands of civilians killed in the Gaza Strip.
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How does October 7th change the Middle East?
“There are no magic solutions”
Israel now assumes that a victory over Islamic Hamas is only possible as part of a “war of attrition”, Israeli media reports said on Tuesday. This can take many months or even years. “To create a new reality in Gaza, in addition to the military struggle, a political and economic process is also necessary,” he continued.
Israel's military chief, Herzi Halevi, said on Tuesday, without going into detail about the supposed change in strategy, that the “war will continue for many more months.” “We will use various methods to maintain our successes for a long time,” emphasized the Chief of Staff. “There are no magical solutions, just a determined fight. We will also contact the Hamas leadership, whether it takes a week or months.”
The N12 report also said the new phase would only happen because Israel is largely in control of the northern Gaza Strip, while the southern Gaza Strip is full of civilians and is relatively outside the army's operational control.
Less intense phase
The war between Israel and Hamas was triggered by an unprecedented attack on October 7, in which hundreds of Hamas fighters entered Israel and committed atrocities there. In response to the attack, Israel has been attacking the Gaza Strip ever since. Just weeks after the Hamas attack, the military launched a ground offensive and penetrated deep into the Gaza Strip.
Initially the focus of the operation was in the north of the coastal strip, later Israel expanded its offensive to the entire area. According to media reports, the next phase, for which no timetable has been released, will be less intensive. Most reservists should be released back into everyday life during this phase. The media reported that regular troops should then continue the war against Hamas.
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The situation is devastating for civilians in Gaza
According to the Times of Israel, the Knesset recently declared that it was necessary to move from the second to the third phase of the war. In late October, Defense Minister Joav Galant also said that Israel's ground offensive was not enough to defeat Hamas. A third phase is needed, in which Israel will begin to find new leadership for the devastated enclave while eradicating “pockets of resistance.”
Almost no space for civilians
Meanwhile, following the expansion of Israeli attacks in the central section of the Gaza Strip, there remains even less space for Palestinian internal refugees, according to the UN. UN Palestine Relief Agency (UNRWA) Gaza director Thomas White wrote on Platform X (Twitter) on Tuesday: “The people of Gaza are being forced to move again. More people in less space.”
He posted a video of a long line of vehicles loaded with belongings such as mattresses. White further wrote that the city of Rafah, in the south of the narrow coastal strip, is now “bursting at the seams”. There is no room for Gaza residents to breathe, he complained and again called for a humanitarian ceasefire.