by Samia Nakhoul, Jonathan Saul and Humeyra Pamuk
DOHA (Reuters) – Israel plans to continue its large-scale military operations in the Gaza Strip for another six to eight weeks, as the country prepares to launch a ground offensive on the southern town of Rafah Palestinian, said four officials familiar with the strategy.
Israeli military leaders believe they can significantly damage Hamas’ remaining capabilities during this period. A lower intensity phase of the conflict would then begin with targeted airstrikes and special forces operations, according to two Israeli officials and two regional officials who wished to remain anonymous.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is unlikely to heed international criticism and call off the planned ground assault on Rafah, said Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official.
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“Rafah is the last stronghold of Hamas and there are still battalions there that Israel must dismantle to achieve its objectives in this war,” he explains.
On Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the Israeli Defense Forces were planning operations in Rafah targeting Hamas fighters, command centers and tunnels, without giving a timetable for the offensive.
“There were 24 regional battalions in Gaza; we dismantled 18 of them,” he told a press briefing. “Rafah is now Hamas’ next center of gravity.”
The planned offensive on Rafah, where more than a million Palestinian civilians have taken refuge, raises fears of a humanitarian catastrophe in this border town with Egypt.
Yoav Gallant indicated that “extraordinary measures” would be taken to protect civilians in Rafah, without specifying which ones.
According to an Israeli security source and an international aid official, residents could be subject to identity checks to ensure they are not Hamas fighters before being transported. be sent north.
Another Israeli source said Israel could also build a floating jetty north of Rafah to allow international aid to arrive by sea.
However, Palestinians will not be allowed to return en masse to the northern Gaza Strip, according to an Israeli defense official, as the region has been devastated by the Israeli offensive and is without electricity and water. ‘running water.
A Qatar-based Hamas official told Reuters the Palestinian Islamist group was prepared for a long war in Rafah. According to the official, Hamas estimates that it has lost 6,000 fighters since the start of the conflict more than four months ago, or half of the 12,000 fighters that Israel claims to have killed.
“Netanyahu’s options are difficult and so are ours. He can occupy Gaza, but Hamas is still standing and fighting. He has not achieved his goal of killing Hamas leaders or wiping out Hamas.”
(Reporting by Samia Nakhoul in Doha, Jonathan Saul in London and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; with contributions from Dan Williams in Jerusalem, Nidal Al Mughrabi in Cairo, Andrew Hay in Doha and Jeff Mason in Washington; Blandine Hénault for the French version)
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