Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant presented a three-phase plan on Oct. 20 for the war against Hamas, though he did not say when an expected ground invasion might commence. Israel is currently in the first phase of the plan, “in which a military campaign takes place with fire, to be followed by a maneuver whose purpose is to destroy operatives and damage infrastructure in order to undermine and destroy Hamas,” Gallant told the members of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, reported Al-Monitor news website.
The second phase is the expected ground campaign, Gallant said, “continuing the fighting at a lower intensity and eliminating pockets of resistance.” This also includes the elimination of Hamas personnel and destroying its military and governing capabilities.
In the third phase, said Gallant, Israel will ensure “the creation of a new security regime in the Gaza Strip, the removal of Israel’s responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip and the creation of a new security reality for the citizens of Israel and the residents of the [Israeli] area near the border.”
A second, unnamed Israeli official explained what “the removal of Israel’s responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip” means, reported Financial Times. “Israel will not be part of the solution in terms of giving [Gazans] work. We’ve disconnected the umbilical cord,” he said. The official added that the crossings from Gaza to Israel that functioned before the war would not be reopened, saying: “That’s over.” In other words, the siege is to be permanent.
Other ministers, FT reports further, have hinted at how the government’s thinking is evolving, with Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter on Oct. 19 saying Israel would enforce a buffer zone within the Gaza Strip once the war was over, to prevent Gazans from coming close to the border. It seems pretty clear that the Israelis consider all the people of Gaza to be the enemy, not just members of Hamas.
