Occupied Jerusalem- In its issue issued on the 66th day of the war on Gaza, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth summarized the scenarios for a ground incursion into the Strip, with the headline “The post-war fighting,” indicating that the Israeli army is racing against time to complete its military operations before the American time for a ceasefire runs out.
This title carries with it messages that the military leadership seeks to pass on to the Israeli public, which are summarized in the fact that ground incursions into… Gaza strip It will not achieve its goals by undermining the Islamic Resistance Movement (agitation) and its military and political power.
It also boils down to the fact that the military operations did not contribute to the liberation of Israeli detainees held by the Palestinian factions, which obliges the army to remain in a state of fighting on the Gaza front during the year 2024.
No achievements
These messages reflect the Israeli narrative that is taking shape at the political level, which is still promoting the continuation of ground incursions without specifying the nature of the achievements that have been achieved, while repeating the Prime Minister’s statements, Benjamin Netanyahuthat the army needs more time to complete military operations.
This comes amid the continuing rise in the number of officers and soldiers killed in the ground battles in Gaza, which has reached 104, bringing the army’s death toll as a result of Hamas’ sudden attack on settlements.Gaza cover“, on the 7th of last October, to 433.
These messages reviewed by the newspaper are consistent with the estimates of many Israeli analysts of military and security affairs, who unanimously agreed that the Israeli army is racing against time in search of framing an image of “victory,” despite the military leadership’s admissions that achieving the goals of the war takes a long time, not weeks.
Estimates unanimously indicate that the occupation army will be in a permanent state of combat, and in 2024 it will continue military operations on the southern front, military alert, and the widespread deployment of forces on the northern front, while all battalions affiliated with the reserve forces will be required to continue military reserve service during the next year for at least one month.
The Israeli army’s preparations include allocating additional budgets in 2024 to finance the continued service of reserve forces in all sectors, while amending the conscription law will be discussed to increase the duration of compulsory military service to 3 years, after there was previously a tendency to shorten it.
In reference to the continuation of the state of fighting on the Gaza front during the year 2024, Yedioth Ahronoth’s military affairs and security correspondent, Yossi Yehoshua, wrote an article entitled “The stage of eliminating armed cells in the Gaza Strip will require more service for the reserve forces and an extension of the period of compulsory military service.” Additional budgets need to be recruited for the Ministry of Security.
Increased risk
As the ground maneuver deepens into the most problematic and difficult areas of the Gaza Strip, the military correspondent says, “The danger to the forces increases, and the anxiety of the families increases. The war is long and bloody, but it is also an existential necessity.”
Yehoshua adds, “Everyone is looking at the final result that will be achieved, and for this reason the Israeli army asks to give him all the time and allow him to carry out the full mission to undermine Hamas according to plans.”
Yehoshua explained that the harsh blow that Israel received on the 7th of last October made the army realize that it must insist on continuing the current military campaign to remove the threats facing Israel, whether from Gaza or… LebanonArmy leaders say, “We want deterrence for many years to keep wars at bay.”
The military correspondent estimated that the ground incursion would need several additional weeks, and pointed out that the Israeli army had made it clear that the campaign in the second phase would require at least another month to achieve the goals.
Yehoshua believes that the Israeli army’s insistence on continuing ground operations, no matter how long it takes, reflects his fear of the scenario of the possibility of returning to the point of war and confrontation after a year, if a severe blow is not directed at Hamas, which dealt an unprecedented blow to the occupation army, which is in a state of “strategic humiliation.” “After failing to prevent a battle”Al-Aqsa flood“.
He pointed out that the expected scenarios are that the year 2024 will be a year of fighting of a different kind, while the Israeli army plans to build something similar to a security fence inside the territory of the Gaza Strip, which will require a lot of resources, budgets, manpower, and technological and engineering means.
For his part, military analyst Amos Harel wrote an article in the newspaper “Haaretz” entitled “Hamas is eroding, and the Israeli army is wondering how to market victory?”, indicating that Israel is not able to eliminate Hamas, and that ground operations in the Gaza Strip will not lead to undermining The strength of the military movement.
Lost state
Harel believes that the Israeli army, which is well aware that the countdown to ending the war on Gaza has begun, is confused and lost, wondering how to market the image of “victory” to the Israeli public after withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and maintaining the state of fighting on the Gaza front.
The military analyst considered that the images of battles and the ground incursion of Israeli forces into the Gaza Strip may indicate the beginning of a change in the security reality, with the army announcing that it was close to consolidating its control over Jabalia and Shuja’iya, stressing that “without the return of the Israeli detainees or the killing of the Hamas leadership, it will be “It is difficult to explain to the Israeli public the reduction in fighting in the future.”
Commenting on the statements of the Israeli military leadership that there are “signs of failure among Hamas,” Harel said, “The most cautious and realistic definition is signs of erosion, not collapse. As is the case with the Israeli army, Hamas has also been fighting forcefully for more than two months, under difficult circumstances.”
In contrast to the Israeli army, Harel adds, “Hamas achieved a major military achievement to its credit at the beginning of the war with the surprise attack it launched on October 7 last year.”
He concludes, “In order to achieve any achievement, it will be necessary to decide whether to expand the ground operation in the south to areas where the Israeli army has not been active before.”
