Watan-Israel’s occupation government, by appointing Eyal Zamir as Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, has acquired an offensive-minded commander as its members had hoped. Zamir has sent signals to the government that if they allow him to implement his military plans in the Gaza Strip, then Hamas will be defeated this time.
According to what Haaretz newspaper published today, Friday, these plans involve committing war crimes with impunity, occupying the entire Gaza Strip, and deploying ships off Gaza’s coast to force the population to flee under fire.
The Hebrew newspaper said Zamir is conveying to the political leadership a renewed readiness on the part of the army to carry out a large-scale ground operation, which could include full occupation of the Gaza Strip. He tells ministers that “the Israeli army is ready to invade whenever you want and to whatever depth you desire.” He also said he has deployed the Golani Brigade to the Gaza border and appointed Major General Yaniv Asor as commander of the Southern Command—another “offensive officer.” In one meeting, Zamir stated that the army had expanded the buffer zone along the Gaza border and “expelled the population.”
The Israeli army is gradually expanding its ground operation in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, in the eastern part of the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, and in the southern neighborhoods of Shaboura and Tel al-Sultan in the devastated city of Rafah.
Netanyahu mutters, and Struk asks if he’s going to give Gaza to the Arabs!
Haaretz reported that in one meeting, a minister dared to ask: What is the objective of the war that Israel resumed in the Gaza Strip on March 18? What is the desired final status? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mumbled a few words about forming a coalition of Arab countries to govern Gaza once “victory” over Hamas is achieved. Minister Orit Strok (from the Religious Zionism party) immediately expressed her frustration and indignantly said: “But Gaza is ours—it is part of the Land of Israel. Are you going to give it to the Arabs?” Netanyahu replied, “Maybe there will be military rule. There are many options.”
Struk’s words reflect the ambitions of the far-right in Israel and their vision for Gaza. The paper notes that the main points of the Israeli army’s plan in Gaza are not far from the desires of the far right: mass mobilization of reserve units, full occupation of Gaza, and further shrinking of the already small humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi. It also mentions ideas of stationing ships off Gaza’s coast to “encourage” residents to emigrate under military fire. Additionally, the Ministry of Defense is working on establishing a directorate to “promote migration,” as if it were just another routine idea.
According to Haaretz, the Israeli army is conducting discussions regarding its military actions without representatives from the military prosecution present, to avoid warnings about steps that may violate international law. In one meeting, a senior officer said, “Not a single sack of flour will enter the Strip unless humanitarian supplies are under Israeli army control.”
Obstacles Facing the Israeli Army’s Plan
However, the plans of the occupation government and the Chief of Staff may face significant internal obstacles, including the lack of consensus over continuing the war, and a large number of reservists refusing to report for military service. The General Staff has held intense discussions in recent weeks on how to deal with the growing phenomenon of reservists not complying due to political objections to the war’s management.
Haaretz military analyst Amos Harel says there are reserve units in the army with participation rates as low as 50%, and army battalions and brigades are tweaking data to downplay the scale of refusal, by preemptively excluding hesitant individuals and relying more on volunteers.
Harel also notes that elite units are increasingly worried about not having complete reserve teams. “The main factor behind this growing hesitancy among reservists is the clear fear that the war may endanger the lives of the remaining Israeli captives in Gaza,” he writes. In addition, there is discontent over the government’s renewed push for judicial overhaul to weaken the judiciary, its encouragement of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) draft-dodging, and the passing of a state budget that serves narrow interest groups.
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