A new report by Yedioth Ahronoth’s military correspondent, Yoav Zeitoun, revealed that the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip may continue for years due to a set of military and security challenges it faces there.
The correspondent’s lengthy report attempts to shed light on what he said were practical reasons that prompted the occupation army to expect this, represented by the continuation of Palestinian resistance, the desire to secure the settlements surrounding Gaza, and the fortification of the Philadelphia corridor on the border with Egypt, under the pretext of preventing the smuggling of military means into Gaza.
Demolition and displacement under the pretext of security
Zaitoun highlights the policy of accelerated demolition of homes in Gaza as an essential part of the Israeli military strategy, which aims to remove buildings and homes and level them to the ground under the pretext of removing the threat to settlements on the Gaza perimeter.
In this context, he points out that the occupation forces leveled many neighborhoods in the city of Beit Hanoun and other areas, such as the “Officers’ Towers” in the Shuja’iya neighborhood and “Khirbet Khuza’a,” which led to the displacement of thousands of Palestinian residents and the destruction of their livelihoods.
In the Netzarim corridor in the northern Gaza Strip, the reporter says that it has been expanded to an area larger than Tel Aviv. It also indicates that the occupation forces are close to completing the buffer zone, which has an average width of one or two kilometers on the Palestinian side of the border, and the project covers about 95% of the planned area, with the continued search and destruction of tunnels. theAffiliated with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
He says that this buffer zone is not just a military zone, but rather is part of a broader plan aimed at destroying the infrastructure of the Palestinian resistance and preventing any new threats from entering Israel.
It also indicates the escalation of this policy on the Philadelphia corridor, with the aim of expanding the buffer zone on the border. He says, “The demolition in this area is part of the army’s efforts to secure an area two to three kilometers wide, as it destroys Palestinian buildings that may threaten the lives of Israeli soldiers present in the area,” as he claims.
In this context, he describes the Philadelphia Corridor, which the Israeli army recently expanded as a road from Kerem Shalom to the sea (14 kilometers), and says, “The corridor has changed beyond recognition. The main engineering activity here is the demolition of homes that could expose soldiers to danger.” The settlement process is carried out systematically to make the border strip from Rafah to Sinai empty of homes.” He added, “In the Al-Shaboura neighborhood alone, the forces demolished 300 houses.”
The report attributes the Israeli measures to strengthening control over the Philadelphia Crossing, reducing Hamas’ ability to move inside and outside the Gaza Strip, and preventing any smuggling operations or support for the Palestinian resistance from Egypt, which reinforces the need for Israeli forces to remain for long periods by imposing tight control over this area, and the region. In northern Gaza, according to the writer.
While the military correspondent focuses on the fact that these measures, especially in northern Gaza, aim to “achieve security and stability for the settlements” in the Gaza envelope area, he ignores that they have become a means to impose demographic changes and create future settlement events in Gaza in order to achieve the vision of the extreme right in the Israeli government.
Hamas is rehabilitating itself
Then the military correspondent moves on to talk about the situation of Gaza City itself (which the Israeli army has not raided for several months), where he reports from the occupation forces that the Al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of the Hamas movement – are rehabilitating themselves by recruiting new fighters, and trying to manufacture weapons such as drones. Pilot can carry a grenade.
He added, “Hamas forces in Gaza City have leaders, even a brigade commander who has not yet been eliminated and prefers to operate out of sight.”
He also confirms the continued strength of Hamas south of the Netzarim corridor, and claims that “the Israeli army has not yet maneuvered there for fear of the presence of the kidnappers.” He points out that the more the population of the southern Gaza Strip was displaced northward from Rafah and the border to the east, the more dense the Nuseirat was, reaching Deir al-Balah and Al-Mawasi. adjacent to it.
He also warns that one of the scenarios the Israeli army is considering is an attack from the sea on its forces in the western Netzarim corridor.
In light of these measures, the Palestinian resistance remains the biggest challenge facing the Israeli occupation, as the report confirms that Hamas continues to use tunnels to launch attacks on Israeli forces, which makes it difficult for the occupation to completely end its operations in the Gaza Strip.
He gives an example of this by saying that Hamas has so far killed about 30 Israeli soldiers and officers in the northern Gaza Strip, at a rate of one soldier or officer every two days, including the commander of the 401st Brigade, Colonel Ihsan Daqsa.