Israel is preparing to reboot military action against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, this time without the constraints imposed previously by the former Biden Administration.
The IDF is preparing to deploy more than 50,000 soldiers for a combined offensive throughout the enclave after evacuating civilians to buffer zones for their safety.
Preliminary airstrikes and a reduction in humanitarian aid will precede the start of the ground operation, which will involve deployment of the largest Israeli military force to enter Gaza to date.
The plan is being finalized by incoming IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir (who previously served as director-general of the Defense Ministry) under the guidance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, senior sources said this weekend.
The expected operation is to be carried out simultaneously in all sectors across Gaza within the next four to six weeks, the source said.
Hostage release talks to extend the ceasefire set to expire this weekend, underway in Cairo, have been unsuccessful thus far.
Hamas is continuing to insist on skipping an extension of the current ceasefire, according to an unconfirmed report by the Egyptian Al-Rad channel.
The Qatari-owned Al Jazeera channel reported Friday that Hamas has called on the international community to pressure Israel into “immediately entering the second phase [tals] without any delay or hesitation.”
To be clear: The terrorist group is insisting on an Israeli surrender in Phase 2: total IDF withdrawal from Gaza and increased terrorist prisoner releases while rebuilding and rehabilitating the enclave.
Israel has said its forces will remain deployed in the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border to prevent smugglers from resupplying Hamas with arms and other contraband, while demilitarizing the enclave and eliminating Hamas as a governing power.
