The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has reportedly deployed all of its standing infantry and armored brigades to the Gaza Strip, as Israel prepares for a further escalation of its offensive against the Hamas terrorist organization.
Over the weekend, Israel launched extensive bombardments across the Gaza Strip, while nationwide protests erupted against the government. Many Israelis received phone calls with recorded voice messages of hostages pleading for release, accompanied by sounds of explosions. At the same time, the domestic debate over the war’s direction intensified. International pressure on Israel to end the war is mounting, while 58 Israeli hostages remain in Hamas captivity.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported that dozens of people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Saturday, including nine of a Gaza doctor’s 10 children. The IDF said the incident was “under review.” The military reported carrying out more than 100 airstrikes that day.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 53,901 people have been killed in the conflict since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel that triggered the now 19-month-long war. After a brief ceasefire, Israel resumed its campaign in mid-March to pressure Hamas into accepting new ceasefire terms and releasing all hostages. Since then, more than 3,700 Palestinians have been killed. The Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and Hamas fighters, while Israel claims a significant portion of those killed are members of Hamas.
The renewed military campaign, named “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” by the IDF, is aimed at dismantling Hamas’s control. Israel, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeks to remove Hamas from power and secure the release of the hostages. Hamas demands a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and international guarantees that Israel will not resume fighting after a hostage release.
“Israel is waiting to see whether its new plan will lead to the needed amount of pressure to make Hamas agree to its terms,” Shaul Bartal, a research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, told The Media Line. “But more importantly, now Israel will need to answer the question of whether it has the ability to address civilian issues and not just pose a military response to Gaza.”
The current deployment means that tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers are now in Gaza.
“We have not seen such an amount of forces since the first few months of the war,” Dr. Michael Milstein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University, told The Media Line. “The question is whether Israel’s hold over territory in Gaza will be translated into military administration and control over civil aspects of life.”
What we are seeing now is not some small operation, but a move that will change the strategic reality for the years to come
“What we are seeing now is not some small operation, but a move that will change the strategic reality for the years to come,” Milstein added.
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Milstein said the government has not been transparent about its objectives, and that no proper public debate has taken place regarding the costs of full Israeli control over Gaza.
“Aside from the economic price of being responsible for almost 2 million Palestinians in a territory that has been largely destroyed, Israel will be facing international sanctions, damage to its relations with Arab countries, and an internal rift due to a war that is not in the public consensus in Israel,” he explained.
The Netanyahu government is the most far-right administration in Israel’s history. Several leading cabinet ministers have openly called for the resettlement of Gaza, often lamenting Israel’s 2005 disengagement from the territory.
Alongside its military operations, Israel has imposed a strict blockade on humanitarian aid to Gaza. The blockade was partially eased last week under growing international pressure, led by the US, as warnings of famine and distressing images from Gaza flooded global media.
Israel’s current plan includes establishing aid distribution centers protected by American security contractors, with IDF soldiers remaining at a distance. These centers are expected to be located in southern Gaza, in areas that Israel has recently cleared through military action.
Since March, the IDF has focused on constructing the Morag Corridor, a strategic east-west route between the southern Gaza cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis. This corridor is intended to isolate the area, encircle Rafah, and create a buffer zone free of Hamas presence. Israel plans to concentrate Gaza’s population there to enable military operations elsewhere and facilitate aid distribution to civilians.
The plan has been criticized by international organizations and rejected by Hamas. If it fails, Israel may be forced to send soldiers to distribute food directly to Palestinian civilians—an outcome the military hopes to avoid.
Netanyahu and other officials have emphasized that this campaign is unlike any previous operation during the war.
The main difference is that Israel is openly admitting it intends to take over and occupy all of Gaza
“The main difference is that Israel is openly admitting it intends to take over and occupy all of Gaza,” said Bartal. “Israel is inching closer to military rule in Gaza.”
The government has faced intense criticism both domestically and abroad. At home, Netanyahu’s opponents accuse him of prolonging the war to avoid political fallout from his failure to prevent the October 7 attack. He has also been accused of failing to prioritize the hostages’ release. Internationally, Israel stands accused by allies of using excessive force, and it faces genocide charges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Despite this, Israel has made only minor adjustments to its military campaign.
Currently Israel has no good options on the table, with each option demanding things it is not willing to do
“Currently Israel has no good options on the table, with each option demanding things it is not willing to do,” Bartal said. “If the war ends with Hamas still in power, this means Israel has returned to October 6, 2023, and it is a matter of time until Hamas attacks again.”
Hamas stunned Israel with its October 7 assault, killing approximately 1,200 Israelis, wounding thousands more, and kidnapping more than 250 people. Senior Hamas leaders—many of whom have since been killed by Israel—celebrated the attack and vowed to repeat it in pursuit of their goal of destroying the Jewish state.
Netanyahu has repeatedly laid out the conditions for ending the war: the total destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, the full demilitarization of Gaza, and a broad effort to deradicalize Palestinian society. He has also floated the possibility of exiling Hamas leaders as part of a hostage release deal.
Seeking to exploit Israeli divisions, Hamas has engaged in psychological warfare. Over the weekend, many Israelis received recordings of hostages begging to be freed, with explosions audible in the background. The Israel National Cyber Directorate described the calls as “an attempt to create panic among the public.”
It remains unclear whether Hamas was directly responsible for the calls.
Meanwhile, the war grinds on.
“Each side is waiting for the other to blink first,” said Bartal.
As Israeli forces advance in Gaza, there is no end in sight. Despite the escalation, Hamas remains in power and firmly committed to its demands. Without a political breakthrough, Israel risks becoming trapped in a prolonged conflict and further global isolation.