They attacked the city from two sides: Vehicles belonging to the Israel Defense Forces (Tsahal) were seen in the west On the shores of GazaAccording to images distributed by the military itself. In the east, “dozens” of Israeli tanks reached the outskirts of Zeitoun district outside Gaza city, using the Saladin highway, which runs north to south in the Strip, according to AFP. “They are blocking the Saladino highway and shooting at every vehicle,” one eyewitness told the French agency.
This is another operation of the “new phase” of the war that Tel Aviv announced in retaliation for the massacre of 1,400 people, mostly civilians, by Hamas on October 7. This includes constant bombings of buildings in the area. They have already killed 8,000 Gazans. According to the Ministry of Health; More than 3,500 children. No one can enter or leave the Strip, which is under “total siege” where water, electricity and food supplies have been cut off.
“No progress has been made”
Hamas said the Israeli army “made no progress” on the ground. “Contrary to what the occupation says, No land progress in residential neighborhoods “In the Gaza Strip,” Salama Maaruf, spokesman for the Gaza government controlled by the Islamic Resistance Movement, said in a statement. Eyewitnesses cited by Reuters claim that the tanks returned after a short attack.
Israeli Army spokesman Daniel Hagari says the opposite:and “additional forces” entered the regionIncluding infantry and armored vehicles. “Israeli Defense Forces troops killed dozens of terrorists. [apostados] behind barricades in buildings and tunnels, preparing to attack the troops.
Three feed axes
“There are three axes of military advance: one along the coast, another to the east, and a third to the south, in the dry Gaza Valley river bed,” he explains. Guillermo Pulido He joined this newspaper as a PhD student in Strategic Studies and as an analyst for Ejercitos magazine. “What is normal is that Israel tries to advance through this dry channel, which is a natural barrier, a kind of valley.”
He notes that if everything continues as it seems, this could be the first phase. Siege of Gaza cityIt will involve separating the Strip from the rest of the Strip to prevent it from accessing or supplying supplies. “You don’t need to go in to conquer the city. “This could serve to force the civilian population to leave and force Hamas to surrender or negotiate surrender to the Palestinian Authority or the Israeli Army.”
As Pulido points out, that’s a thing. Same thing Israel did in Lebanon in 1982While pursuing Palestinian forces under the command of Yasser Arafat. He then laid siege to Beirut and laid siege to the city. There was no need to enter. “He left the dirty work to Christian militias.” He reminds us that there are other examples of sieges, such as the battles of Fallujah and Mosul, Mariupol or Bakhmut in Iraq. “If you want to conquer a city, a siege is inevitable unless you declare them ‘open cities’, like Rome in 1944 or Paris in 1940. The opposite is to declare them ‘fortress cities’, as the German Army did in Stalingrad.” concludes.
“Hannibal Directive” regarding hostages
According to the latest information received from Israeli officials, Hamas militants took 239 people hostage in the attack on Israeli territory. Ground operations and bombings created fear among relatives The lives of those detained are at risk.
“Israelis They will implement Israel’s ‘Hannibal directive’: “We will not allow the presence of hostages to change our military strategy, because then we will be the hostages,” he explains to this newspaper. Jesus Manuel Perez Triana, security and defense analyst. “The doctrine is that if someone is captured by a force hostile to Israel and contact is lost, it is preferable to attack with all forces. We would rather give a body to the family than negotiate with a terrorist.”
The analyst draws attention to the movements accompanying these Israeli attacks and the importance of the more than seven-hour meeting that American Secretary of State Antony Blinken held with those responsible for Israeli military strategy. Washington warns Tel Aviv not to do the same Mistakes they made in Iraq or Afghanistan, when they gave too much emphasis to plotting the occupation, but too little to maintaining the subsequent “fourth phase” of stability. The Israeli Army, on the other hand, admitted that it did not have a clear plan on this issue yet, and that its primary goal was to destroy the military infrastructure of Hamas and its military wing, Al Qassam brigades, in Gaza.
“What the US is asking Israel is what it will do with the Strip after the ground offensive. What is the plan? Do you know how complicated it is to be the master of the fate of 2.2 million people in a devastated region? The analyst said, “The Palestinian National Authority will eventually take control Are they aware that you will refuse to take it? “Are they considering involving the blue helmets to restore order after Israel’s rejection of the United Nations?” he asks.