Israel is reportedly planning a major operation against the radical Palestinian movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which is expected to be unprecedented in its intensity. According to Reuters, eight informed sources among Israeli officials and officials from other Middle Eastern and Western countries have revealed this information.
The Israeli army intends to destroy Gaza’s infrastructure, even at the cost of civilian lives, and push Palestinians towards the border with Egypt. They also plan to detonate the underground tunnel network used by militants for their operations. However, officials have expressed concerns about the consequences of the operation.
A representative from an Arab country believes that Israel’s strategy is to drop thousands of bombs on the Gaza Strip, destroy everything, and occupy its territory. However, Israel does not have a long-term strategy for what comes after the operation.
Another source revealed that beneath the enclave lies an underground city of tunnels built by Hamas, which makes the Viet Cong’s tunnels in comparison look like child’s play.
An American official doubts that Israel will be able to completely destroy Hamas or will want to reoccupy the Gaza Strip. The more likely scenario, he suggests, would be to eliminate or capture as many radicals as possible, destroy the underground tunnels, and rocket factories.
On October 7, Hamas forces launched thousands of rockets into Israeli territory and announced the start of the “Flood of Al-Aqsa” operation. Thousands of militants invaded Israeli territory, seizing dozens of military vehicles and over a hundred hostages. Against this backdrop, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu declared the country to be in a state of war.
The counter-operation by the Israel Defense Forces was named “Iron Swords,” with the goal of destroying Hamas. Israeli Air Force conducted strikes on hundreds of militant targets in the Gaza Strip, and the National Security Council decided to cut off the enclave’s supply of water, food, goods, electricity, and fuel. On October 13, Israel informed the United Nations that 1.1 million Palestinians must evacuate to the south of Gaza in preparation for a ground operation.
Earlier, “Gazeta.Ru” provided answers to key questions about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
