RAFAH (Gaza Strip) — Israel's defense minister on Thursday laid out his vision for the next phase of the war in Gaza, describing how Israeli forces will shift to, and continue to operate, a seemingly scaled-down “new combat approach” in northern Gaza. To fight Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip “as long as necessary.”
Before the US Secretary of State's visit, Yoav Gallant also laid out a proposal for how Gaza would be run once Hamas is defeated, with Israel retaining security control while an unspecified Palestinian body with Israeli directives runs the day-to-day administration. The United States and other countries are overseeing the rebuilding.
Israel has been subjected to intense international pressure to clarify its post-war vision, but has not done so so far. This issue is likely to be on the agenda Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks this weekend In Israel and other countries in the region. The United States has pressed Israel to shift to less intense military operations in Gaza that more precisely target Hamas, after nearly three devastating months of bombing and ground attacks.
The ambiguity surrounding many of Gallant's paragraphs made it difficult to assess their conformity with American calls.
The document issued by Gallant was titled “A Vision for the Third Phase” of the war, and Gallant’s office said that the phase had not yet begun. She also said that the ideas were Gallant's policy and not official policy, which should be determined by the Israeli Defense and Security Cabinet.
Gallant, a member of both governments, may aim to put his personal plan before Americans before others in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, which includes members of the far-right who are likely to want a tougher approach.
The Israeli campaign on Gaza resulted in the deaths of more than 22,400 people, more than two-thirds of whom were women and children. According to the Ministry of Health In areas controlled by Hamas. The ministry's statistics do not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel vowed to destroy Hamas after its October 7 attack in which the militants killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped about 240 others.
Much of northern Gaza, which Israeli forces invaded two months ago, has been flattened beyond recognition. Associated Press footage from Gaza City It showed people wandering through a devastated landscape with large fields of broken concrete, scattered wood, and streets lined with collapsed buildings.
Now focusing on the south, Israeli forces are fighting Hamas militants in the city of Khan Yunis and in urban refugee camps in the central Strip.
About 85% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have been evicted from their homes and forced to live there. Smaller fragments of the territory. The Israeli siege of the Strip has caused a humanitarian crisis, with a quarter of the population starving due to the lack of adequate supplies, according to the United Nations.
Meanwhile, air strikes and bombing across Gaza continue to destroy homes and bury families who have taken refuge inside them.
On Thursday, an Israeli raid destroyed a house in the small rural area of Al-Mawasi, located on the southern coast of the Gaza Strip The Israeli army declared a safe area. Palestinian hospital officials said the explosion killed at least 12 people. Among the dead were a man, his wife, seven of their children, and three other children between the ages of 5 and 14, according to the list of the dead who arrived at Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Yunis.
There was no immediate response from the Israeli army.
Gallant vision
Gallant's statement stressed that the war will continue until Hamas's military and governmental capabilities are eliminated and more than 100 hostages still in captivity are returned.
The statement said forces in the north will shift to a new approach that includes raids, tunnel destruction, “air and ground activities and special operations.” The goal will be to “erode” what remains of Hamas' presence.
There was no news on whether the residents of northern Gaza, who were almost entirely displaced to the south, would be allowed to return.
The statement did not explain how the new approach would differ from current operations, but Gallant previously said it would be on a smaller scale. Last week, Israel began withdrawing some of its forces from northern Gaza, where the army says it has largely controlled operations after weeks of intense fighting with Hamas. However, Gallant said several thousand Hamas fighters were still there.
He added that fighting in the south would continue “as long as necessary.”
The statement said that after the war, Israel will maintain security control, will take military measures in Gaza when necessary to ensure there are no threats, and will continue inspections of all goods entering the Strip.
Gallant said that there will be no Israeli civilians in Gaza, ruling out calls from some on the extreme right in Israel for the return of Jewish settlers to the Strip.
Israel withdrew its forces and settlers from Gaza in 2005 after a 38-year presence.
Without elaborating, the statement said that Palestinian entities — apparently local civil servants or community leaders — would administer the area, and Israel would provide “information to guide civilian operations.” A multinational task force, led by the United States, will undertake the reconstruction mission.
The clear picture of an Israeli-dominated Palestinian administration in Gaza differs starkly from US calls to revitalize the Palestinian Authority to take control of the area and begin new negotiations toward creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have rejected this idea.
Fears of a wider war
apparent An Israeli raid led to the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Beirut It has raised new concerns that the conflict could expand to other parts of the Middle East – a possibility that is likely to be high on Blinken's agenda.
The killing of Saleh Al-Arouri The move sparked warnings of retaliation against a Hamas ally Lebanese Hezbollah militia. But there was no immediate escalation in the daily exchange of rockets and missiles between Hezbollah and the Israeli army across the borders of the two countries. Regional tensions escalated with A A US airstrike killed an Iranian-backed militia leader In Iraq as well The Houthis in Yemen Attacks on ships in the main shipping lanes in the Red Sea continue.
At the same time, Israel has intensified its warnings against taking tougher military action against Hezbollah unless it withdraws its fighters from the border area, as stipulated in the 2006 UN-brokered ceasefire agreement. Israel says this is the only way it can During which tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated from communities in the north returned.
Gallant said on Thursday that there was a “short window of time” for diplomacy with Hezbollah. But he said that Israel is determined to achieve “a new reality in the northern arena, which allows the safe return of our citizens.”
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Frankel reported from Jerusalem and Jeffrey from Cairo.
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Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
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