Three months ago, speaking to citizens rocked by a horrific day of attacks by Hamas, Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a promise. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe IDF will immediately use all its strength to destroy Hamas\u2019s capabilities,\u201d Netanyahu said. \u201cWe will destroy them.\u201d <\/p>\n
Now, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is shifting to a new phase of its war on Hamas in Gaza \u2013 and there are signs its objectives are changing too. <\/p>\n
\u201cIDF leadership understands very well that the most they can do is severely degrade the military capabilities of Hamas,\u201d Saab said. <\/p>\n
Israel has seen some successes in that regard; its forces claim to have killed thousands of Hamas fighters, including some high-ranking members, and have dismantled some parts of the group\u2019s vast tunnel network under the enclave. <\/p>\n
But challenges remain and an endgame is far from sight. Few countries at war set deadlines. Israeli officials have warned of a lengthy war that could stretch through the entirety of 2024 and beyond. <\/p>\n
It will unfold in front of an international community that is increasingly aghast at the extraordinary humanitarian crisis and spiraling civilian deaths in Gaza. <\/p>\n
And as international pressure increases, so too could domestic unease towards Netanyahu \u2013 an embattled prime minister eager to point to tangible victories. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a race against time,\u201d said Saab, outlining the key questions facing Israel\u2019s leadership. \u201cAt what price is this tactical success going to come, and how much time do the Israelis have to achieve that tactical success without suffering from more significant international outrage?\u201d <\/p>\n
The destruction of Hamas \u2013 the goal that Netanyahu touted on October 7 \u2013 was lofty, elusive and, according to many analysts, impossible. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis kind of mission cannot be completed \u2013 we\u2019ve seen it fail over the years many times,\u201d Saab said. <\/p>\n
Hamas\u2019 influence extends far beyond Gaza, meaning a total defeat of the group is at least highly ambitious for Israel, if it can be achieved at all. <\/p>\n
In a speech marking the anniversary of the attacks, Netanyahu reiterated his goals for the conflict: \u201cTo eliminate Hamas, return our hostages and ensure that Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel.\u201d <\/p>\n
But it remains unclear whether IDF leadership places eliminating Hamas atop its priorities. IDF intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva left out the destruction of Hamas when listing military goals in a speech on Thursday, Israeli media noted. <\/p>\n
And also on Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant unveiled plans for the next phase of the war in Gaza, emphasizing a new combat approach in the north and a sustained focus on targeting Hamas leaders suspected to be present in the enclave\u2019s southern territory. <\/p>\n
In the third phase, IDF operations in northern Gaza will encompass \u201craids, the destruction of terror tunnels, aerial and ground activities, and special operations,\u201d according to Gallant. <\/p>\n
If the more realistic target is a severe reduction in Hamas\u2019 fighting capabilities, many analysts say that tangible progress has been made in the past three months. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe definition of success will not be to catch or kill all Hamas operatives, but to ensure that Hamas can no longer effectively govern the Gaza Strip,\u201d Plesner said. \u201cHamas is organized like an army, with command and control centers, regiments and brigades. This command structure is being seriously challenged and dismantled.\u201d <\/p>\n
Addressing reporters in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said last week that the Israeli military is \u201cfighting with force and new systems above and below the ground\u201d and claimed to have killed 8,000 Hamas fighters in Gaza, according to Army Radio. <\/p>\n
Israel has also claimed some success in targeting Hamas\u2019 tunnel shafts, a complex notoriously difficult for IDF troops to infiltrate. The IDF released a video this week which it says showed the dismantlement of one tunnel route under Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in Gaza, that it accused Hamas of excavating. <\/p>\n
Last month, it released other videos it said showed a network of tunnels which connect to residences and offices of senior Hamas leadership including Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, and Muhammad Deif. <\/p>\n
But the bigger goal of finding and killing Hamas\u2019 most important leaders in Gaza has eluded Israel to date. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where intelligence is king,\u201d Saab said. Gallant and other officials have repeatedly emphasized the importance of their efforts to eliminate senior Hamas commanders, with the defense minister vowing in late December that Sinwar would \u201cmeet the barrels of our guns soon.\u201d <\/p>\n
A longtime figure in the Islamist Palestinian group, Sinwar was responsible for building up Hamas\u2019 military wing before forging important new ties with regional Arab powers as the group\u2019s civilian and political leader. <\/p>\n
\u201cOrganizations like these replace commanders pretty easily. I don\u2019t think anyone is irreplaceable in Hamas,\u201d Saab said. \u201cBut if you take out the symbolic heads of the organization, who knows if that might have a trickle down effect, especially with people who have military responsibilities.\u201d <\/p>\n
It seems unlikely that the new phase of Israel\u2019s war will bring relief for the Palestinians trapped in Gaza, where a humanitarian crisis has spiraled to extraordinary levels. <\/p>\n
But Netanyahu may be more likely to be bow in the face of domestic pressure, which has been rising in particular over the continued captivity of more than 100 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7. <\/p>\n
The return of those hostages remains a goal in the war\u2019s new phase, but failure to deliver would intensify political pressure on a decisive leader whose popularity among Israelis has only plunged since October 7. <\/p>\n
\u201cFrom day one, there was a clear disparity \u2013 there is support for the war goals and for the IDF, (but) the trust in the Israeli government is at an all-time low,\u201d Plesner said, \u201cThere\u2019s a huge gulf.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Three months ago, speaking to citizens rocked by a horrific day of attacks by Hamas, Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a promise. \u201cThe IDF will immediately use all its strength to destroy Hamas\u2019s capabilities,\u201d Netanyahu said. \u201cWe will destroy them.\u201d Now, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is shifting to a new phase of its <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":13685,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13684","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}