For weeks, Israel and Hamas have been trapped in fruitless negotiations to expand the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and to replace more Israeli hostages with Palestinian prisoners.
Negotiations stalled as Hamas refused to release large numbers of hostages unless Israel promises to end the war permanently – this promise Israel will not do it unless Hamas agrees to give up power in Gaza.
Now, it seems that Israel has returned to the war to crush Hamas’s hope for the territory.
The massive Israeli air attacks on Gaza earlier on Tuesday stopped an immediate ground invasion. But if Hamas refuses to give up control of Gaza, they could develop into a comprehensive ground operation, according to two Israeli military officials who spoke anonymously to speak more freely.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has received domestic rewards from the strike. They started hours after a far-right party rejoined Mr. Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, strengthening the government’s fragile majority in parliament, which a few weeks later protested the initial armistice.
In Gaza, these strikes are a cruel reminder of Hamas that if the group does not retreat, it and the destruction faced by Gaza civilians. According to the hundreds of people killed by the Gaza Ministry of Health, the ministry did not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its highest nightly toll for months. Israeli troops also ordered residents of two Palestinian border villages to flee their homes, suggesting the possibility of Israeli invasion in the coming days.
Israeli Michael Milstein said that by conducting a missile strike rather than starting such ground operations immediately, Israel is seeking to “push Hamas to show greater flexibility”. “The big question is Hamas’ response,” he said.
“I personally think that Hamas will likely be ready to give up their red line,” Milstein said. “I’m very worried that within a few days we will find ourselves in a limited war of loss: ongoing air strikes, but Hamas is not ready.”
Israeli officials say if this is still the case, Israel may have more formal control over much of the territory. This would constitute a strategy to avoid Israel at an earlier stage of the war.
Officials said the military also aims to kill senior Hamas executives who were not previously considered high-priority targets to signal Hamas that Israel will not allow the group to retain control over Gaza. The Hamas Government Media Office announced that during the Israeli strike, four of the most senior civilian managers and security officers in the territory were in charge.
“This is just the beginning,” Mr. Netanyahu warned in his speech a few hours later. “We will continue to fight to achieve all the goals of the war.”
