The military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, attributed the reason for the major Israeli escalation in the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours to the occupation army’s attempt to achieve several goals for future negotiations.
Al-Duwairi explained – during his military analysis for Tel Aviv Tribune – that the Israeli army is trying to control the eastern strip of the Gaza Strip along a length of 42 kilometers in order to try to create a buffer zone ranging from 1,200 to 1,800 meters to be negotiated in the future.
He pointed out that a political path began with the arrival of the head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Ismail Haniyeh, to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, noting that the occupation army is trying to use the cards it has to achieve field achievements in the hope of imposing conditions that will push the resistance to concessions.
Al-Duwairi expected an increase in the ferocity of the Israeli bombing, with the aim of flattening the land, as well as causing the greatest possible damage to the tunnels through concussion bombs, in addition to an escalation of operations in the southern region.
He added that the occupation army is trying to expand its operations in Khan Yunis to the south, in addition to trying to impose a buffer zone along the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip, noting that the Rafah area is considered a soft side that may help the occupation move from the northeast towards the city to create a new reality.
The military expert confirmed that the resistance is adopting a regional defense method, allowing the entry of Israeli vehicles, and then engaging in a zero-distance battle and operating from behind the lines, because entering into a confrontation with tanks is “extremely costly.”
He pointed out that there is a large gap between the proposals of the resistance in Gaza and the Israeli-American talk, stressing that the resistance is demanding a very high ceiling, especially in light of the blood that has been spilled. “It is not reasonable to have a ceasefire only, without there being a price and a political solution.”
Al-Duwairi questioned the accuracy of the numbers announced by the occupation army about the number of dead and injured among its ranks, stressing that the number of vehicles targeted by the resistance confirms that the numbers are much larger, in addition to sniping operations, ambushes, and targeting of foot forces and those holed up in buildings.
It is noteworthy that the Israeli army announced that the number of its officers and soldiers killed since the start of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip late last October had risen to 140, bringing the total number to 465 dead since the start of Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood.”