The Economist newspaper said that despite the intensification of fighting between the Israeli army and the Islamic Resistance Movement (agitation) in a sector GazaIt has become certain that the current attack is the last large-scale Israeli operation in this war, indicating that American pressure on Tel Aviv is secretly escalating.
The British newspaper reported that the Israeli army sent an entire division to and around the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, while 3 other divisions from the Armored Corps are still continuing their operations in the northern Gaza Strip.
The newspaper quoted a security official as saying that the Israeli army has been at the peak of its deployment for more than two months, and that “the next stage will be a less intense mobile campaign.”
The Economist added – in the report published today, Thursday – that the most important question before Israel’s generals is whether this shift – to a reduced campaign – will thwart the main goal of the war, which is to destroy the military capabilities of the Hamas movement.
According to the report, Israel has little choice but to reduce its operations, in light of the United States’ insistence – its main ally and arms supplier – on reducing the level of firepower to avoid continuing this killing of civilians, as well as in light of the increasing pressure on the Israeli economy resulting from the mobilization of 360,000 military personnel. Reserve soldiers.
Search for a picture of victory
With the end of the most violent phase of the military operation approaching – according to the newspaper – Israel is trying to give its citizens the impression that the Hamas resistance is collapsing and that the army now controls a large area of the Gaza Strip, but despite everything it did for that, it did not obtain the “image of victory” that the Israelis seek. .
The Economist reported that the Israeli army may have eliminated half of Hamas’s force, which the newspaper estimated at about 30,000 fighters, but it confirmed that the movement still has thousands of fighters, who continue to emerge from tunnels and ambush Israeli soldiers, and that dozens of Israeli prisoners are still in prison. The movement’s grip and under the threat of the continuing Israeli bombing of Gaza.
Israel was also unable to eliminate the leadership of Hamas or destroy its infrastructure. Although it killed a number of field commanders, it did not succeed in eliminating the head of the movement in Gaza. Yahya Al-Sanwar Or a leader Al-Qassam Brigades The military wing of the movement Muhammad Al-Deif Or his deputy, Marwan Issa.
United States position
Regarding the United States, there is no indication in public that it is pressuring Israel, especially not yet Veto It used its veto power in the Security Council on the eighth of this month to block a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. It is also supplying it with more weapons, as it approved in recent days a shipment of about 14,000 tank shells.
But pressure is increasing in secret, according to the newspaper, as it quoted several sources as confirming that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told officials during his recent visit to Israel that they must end the military operation by next year.
Differences between the American and Israeli governments also began to emerge regarding arrangements for governing the Gaza Strip after the fighting subsided.
The two sides are already discussing behind the scenes plans in which the Palestinian Authority would play a role in managing the Strip, but in all the scenarios presented, the Israeli army may maintain a large presence there for a period of time, and Hamas will also likely maintain control over parts of the Strip, according to the newspaper.
In light of these developments, the report says that Israeli bombing may decline, and with it the suffering it causes to the people of Gaza, but the future is more uncertain than ever.
