Stocks Flux
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Latest news
  • World News
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Latest news
  • World News

Stocks Flux

World News

Israel considers massive new ground offensive in Gaza as it ramps up pressure on Hamas

by admin March 24, 2025
March 24, 2025
Israel considers massive new ground offensive in Gaza as it ramps up pressure on Hamas

Israel is making plans for a potential major ground offensive in Gaza that would involve sending tens of thousands of troops into combat to clear and occupy large swaths of the enclave, an Israeli official and a second source familiar with the matter said.

The potential large-scale offensive is one of several possible scenarios the Israeli government is contemplating as it escalates its attacks on Gaza and seeks to pressure Hamas to release more hostages without negotiating an end to the war.

Efforts by Egypt and Qatar to revive the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have intensified in recent days and one source said leaks about a major ground offensive are part of an Israeli effort to apply more pressure on Hamas at the negotiating table. Israeli officials have previously indicated that Israel would stop its attacks if Hamas agrees to free more hostages.

Still, the Israeli military, led by its new and more aggressive chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, has been crafting plans for a large-scale operation in Gaza for weeks now.

While the Israeli military has launched numerous ground offensives in Gaza over the course of the war, its forces often withdrew within days or weeks of routing Hamas fighters in the targeted area. Without an Israeli troop presence or an alternative governing or military force, Hamas would often re-emerge in those areas, prompting Israeli forces to return.

Under one potential scenario now being considered, Israeli forces would clear Hamas from large swaths of Gaza and then occupy that territory to prevent Hamas’s resurgence, the sources said. Such a decision could see the Israeli military occupying the territory and fighting insurgencies for years.

A large-scale offensive could involve five Israeli divisions — or some 50,000 troops — the sources said.

“But of course the problem is that once you escalate you can find yourself at the end of the road, in the depth of swamp. And this is the risk that no one knows if it will work or not.”

“Once you threaten something you should be prepared to do it,” he said.

The Israeli military has already begun laying the groundwork for larger-scale ground maneuvers, recapturing half of the Israeli-demarcated Netzarim corridor, which splits northern Gaza from the rest of the strip, and pushing troops into strategic locations in northern and southern Gaza.

Israel’s cabinet on Sunday set up an agency to facilitate any Palestinians in Gaza who wished to participate in a “voluntary transfer” to third countries – though none have agreed to take in emigrees.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made eliminating Hamas’s military and governance capabilities in Gaza a central war goal as he vows to achieve “absolute victory.”

But a larger-scale and longer-term Israeli military offensive in Gaza could also draw stiff resistance from the Israeli public, of which a majority has been clamoring for a deal to free the 59 hostages still held in Gaza over a return to war.

“What we will see is a permanent presence of the IDF fighting the counter-insurgency on the ground,” Hulata said. “And there will be no other option than for the IDF to assume responsibility for the humanitarian aid.”

Israel has since the beginning of March blocked all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, amplifying the humanitarian catastrophe in the strip.

Further occupation of Gaza “is, at least right now, not in the interest of Israel,” Ziv said. “For some of the extremists in the government like (Bezalel) Smotrich” – the far-right finance minister – “maybe it’s the purpose. But it’s definitely not the best of the Israeli policy at this time.”

Before Israel ended the ceasefire last week, a March 9 poll from the Israel Democracy Institute found that nearly three-quarters of Israelis supported reaching a deal to end the war with Hamas in exchange for the release of all the hostages.

And recently released hostages and the families of current hostages have warned that resuming the war in Gaza will only serve to endanger the lives of the 24 hostages estimated to still be alive.

Netanyahu’s political priorities may lie elsewhere, however. Key members of his right-wing governing coalition have been clamoring for a return to full-scale war over a negotiated settlement to free the hostages.

And Netanyahu’s aides believe US President Donald Trump will be more supportive of large-scale Israeli military action than former President Joe Biden, who suspended the transfer of certain weapons in order to forestall a major Israeli offensive into the heavily populated southern part of Gaza.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has hinted at the possibility of large-scale expansion of military ground operations, saying last week he had “instructed the IDF to seize additional territories, while evacuating the population.”

“The more Hamas continues its refusal, the more territory it will lose to Israel,” he said Friday in a statement.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Trump envoy doesn’t believe Putin wants to take over Europe
next post
Israel approves controversial proposal to facilitate emigration of Palestinians from Gaza

You may also like

China’s military launches live-fire exercise in escalation of...

April 2, 2025

K-pop superstars BTS announce end of hiatus with...

July 2, 2025

For Vladimir Putin, Russia’s position in the world...

March 22, 2025

Carney says Trump is no longer interested in...

June 25, 2025

These kibbutzniks used to believe in peace with...

May 3, 2025

Senior Hamas leaders arrive in Cairo for ceasefire...

April 27, 2025

First major piece of Bayesian superyacht recovered from...

May 20, 2025

Who was he? How did he get there?...

February 24, 2025

Senior Russian general killed in car blast just...

April 25, 2025

Will keeping a ‘cool head’ allow Mexico to...

March 30, 2025

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free


    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Categories

    • Business (374)
    • Latest news (10)
    • Politics (1,716)
    • World News (1,369)
    • About us
    • Contacts
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Politics

    • Trump closes out 30th week in office with ‘very warm’ high-stakes Putin meeting

      August 17, 2025
    • State Department stops issuing all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza

      August 17, 2025
    • Playboy moving its headquarters to Miami Beach and opening a new club

      August 17, 2025
    March 2025
    M T W T F S S
     12
    3456789
    10111213141516
    17181920212223
    24252627282930
    31  
    « Feb   Apr »

    Copyright © 2025 stocksflux.com | All Rights Reserved