According to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the plan aimed at ending Hamas’ rule over the Gaza Strip is being implemented in several stages, revealing the “broad outlines” of the ground intervention process that the army intends to implement within the coming days.
The Israeli army previously announced the readiness of ground forces to enter Gaza, and live ammunition training on short-range shooting is now underway to raise the efficiency of the combat forces.
The United States gave the green light to carry out the ground operation, saying through its Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, that “It is Israel’s duty to defend itself, and the ground operation should be carried out in accordance with international law and the rules of engagement.”
Israeli “Goal Bank”.
Yedioth Ahronoth revealed that the Israeli War Council set 5 field combat goals that it seeks to achieve, including:
- The offensive begins with a maneuver in the northern Gaza Strip to gain military control of the area that will enable immediate intelligence gathering and verification, with the aim of halting the firing of rockets into the Israeli home front, and destroying Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities.
- In the southern Gaza Strip, Israel will work to achieve the same goals using other methods based on accurate intelligence already held by the Israeli General Security Agency (Shin Bet) and military intelligence, or intelligence collected during the fighting.
- The third target is located in northern Israel, where the army will continue to clash with Hezbollah and the Palestinian factions operating from Lebanese territory, and perhaps with armed groups from Syria and Iraq, in an effort to keep these clashes short of war and confine them to the border areas.
- The army continues to maintain its readiness for a large-scale war in Lebanon, including ground maneuvers, if Hezbollah launches an all-out war.
- In parallel with the fighting in the north and south of the Gaza Strip, Israel will work with the United States and the United Nations to maintain the momentum of “political and logistical support” provided by the United States and its allies for military action.
5 strategic objectives
As for the five strategic goals that Tel Aviv seeks to achieve in the medium term in ending the fighting in Gaza, they include:
- Firstly: Demilitarize the entire sector, and establish arrangements and mechanisms to ensure this.
- secondly: Work to ensure that the government in Gaza is “civil and not ideologically based on a religious basis,” while the Strip will obtain a deep-water port that will be operated under security supervision.
- Third: Establishing an integrated warning and protection system on the borders that provides security for its citizens in the event that the conditions required in the Gaza Strip are not met or violated. Security arrangements also include a security perimeter ranging between one and three kilometers in width, and Gazans will not be allowed to enter it without special permission.
- Fourthly: The IDF will not remain in Gaza for longer than is necessary to achieve the immediate objectives of the fighting and enable the formation of an alternative government in the Gaza Strip.
- Fifth: Israel takes into account the global strategic interests and considerations of the United States, domestic political considerations, and the strategic interests of countries with which it has peace agreements and diplomatic relations.
Invasion possibilities
Former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Affairs, Mike Mulroy, said in an exclusive interview with Sky News Arabia that Israel’s declared goals in this war are to destroy Hamas with its political and military wings, and “this will likely require a ground invasion.”
But Mulroy sees risks facing the Israeli army if it takes this step, as he explained that “Hamas planned to defend Gaza when it planned its attack on Israel, and it is likely that it has buildings equipped to explode, ambushes, and weapons that can defeat Israeli armor.”
He added that the future of the war in the coming period depends on the ground invasion, which “once it is completed, there will be some tasks in the nature of temporary governance, as Israel wants to tighten its grip on Gaza as it does in the West Bank.”
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