Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said yesterday evening, Monday, that the intensive ground operation in the northern Gaza Strip has ended, and will soon end in the south as well, following the Israeli army’s announcement of the transfer of the Duvdovan unit from the Strip to the occupied West Bank and the withdrawal of the 36th Division, which includes the Golani Brigade.
Gallant added – in a press conference marking the 100th day of the war – that he presented a plan at the beginning of the war that stipulated that the phase of intensive ground maneuvers would continue for about 3 months, stressing that it had ended in northern Gaza.
He continued that the Israeli army would soon reach the end of the intensive ground operations in the south, and then move to the next phase of the war, the nature or duration of which he did not clarify. He also did not mention whether the end of the intensive ground operations in the Gaza Strip meant withdrawal from it.
The Israeli Minister of Defense claimed that the occupation army dismantled all the regional capabilities of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), adding that they are working to dismantle the movement’s military industry in the center of the Gaza Strip, as he put it.
He pointed out that the Israeli army still has stages to go through in the fighting axes from Khan Yunis to Rafah, above and below the ground.
Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Ubaida denied the Israeli army’s announcement of the destruction of military structures in the central Gaza Strip.
Rule of Gaza
Regarding the future governance of Gaza, Gallant said that Palestinians live there, and therefore it will be ruled by Palestinians in the future.
But he added that the future government system in Gaza must be from within the Strip, and must be based on forces that are not hostile to the State of Israel and must constitute a civilian alternative that cares about the well-being of the people of Gaza, according to his words.
Detainees file
Regarding the release of the prisoners, Gallant stressed that they can only be released from a position of strength, adding that if the shooting stops, their fate will be sealed, which is to remain for years in captivity by the Hamas movement, as he put it.
Gallant considered that military pressure is what will achieve the war’s goals, stressing that the current year 2024 will be the “year of war.”
It is noteworthy that the Israeli army failed to recover any detainee through military operations in the Gaza Strip, and some of its operations resulted in the death of detainees. Israel recovered 110 prisoners through an exchange deal during the temporary truce.