March 25, 2025 (EIRNS)—Israeli strikes killed 23 Palestinians in Gaza overnight, AP reported this morning. The dead included 3 children and their parents, who were killed in a strike on their tent near the southern city of Khan Younis. More than 700 Palestinians have been killed since Israel resumed its war on Gaza a week ago and the official death toll since Oct. 7, 2023 passed 50,000 a couple of days ago.
But all of this is but a prelude for what’s to come. Reports began appearing over the weekend that Israel is preparing for a full-scale ground invasion of the strip ahead of a military occupation. The new and more aggressive tactics, according to current and former Israeli officials and others briefed, will probably also include direct military control of humanitarian aid; targeting more of Hamas’s civilian leadership; and evacuating women, children, and vetted noncombatants from neighborhoods to “humanitarian bubbles” and laying siege to those who remain—a more intense version of a tactic employed last year in northern Gaza, the Times of Israel reported [https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-to-discuss-military-control-of-gaza-with-senior-us-officials-source/] on Sunday. Israeli officials say they are still waiting for the outcome of ceasefire talks and that no decisions have been made on whether—and how—to escalate the current phase of the offensive, which has so far consisted of mostly aerial bombardment.
A full-scale invasion and occupation would require up to five army divisions, people familiar with the planning say, and the Israel Defense Forces could become stretched, given that reservists are increasingly voicing skepticism about fighting an open-ended war.
A March 21 analysis in Haaretz attributed the plan to new IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir, who told ministers he believes his plan could finally achieve what Israel has failed to accomplish in nearly a year-and-a-half of war—the complete destruction of Hamas’s rule and military capabilities.
