Here is some of what to expect. As I argued yesterday, it is about to get a lot worse and there will be a period of high intensity warfare, or so Netanyahu claims (on this, there is no reason to doubt him).
Israeli military reporter reports (such a long tweet and I know some of you don’t even open them, so I copy paste for you):
*A senior Israeli defense official says the military will launch its major offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots,” if no hostage deal is reached with the terror group by the end of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region next week.
Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates between May 13 and May 16.
“Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’, whose objective is the defeat of Hamas in Gaza and the release of all hostages, was unanimously approved yesterday by the security cabinet,” the defense official says in a statement to reporters.
He says the IDF will “bolster its forces and operate with intensity to defeat Hamas and destroy its military and governmental capabilities, while creating strong pressure for the release of all hostages.”
According to the official, “a central component of the plan is the extensive evacuation of the entire Gazan population from combat zones, including from northern Gaza, to areas in southern Gaza, while creating separation between them and Hamas terrorists, in order to allow the IDF operational freedom of action.”
“Unlike in the past, the IDF will remain in every area that is conquered, to prevent the return of terror, and will handle every cleared area according to the Rafah model, where all threats were leveled and it became part of the security zone,” he says, referring to an Israeli-held buffer zone.
The official says the “blockade” on humanitarian aid will continue, and only later, after the beginning of operational activity and a broad evacuation of the population to the south, a humanitarian plan will be implemented."
He says the plan includes delineating an area in southern Gaza’s Rafah, which will be secured by the IDF, as civilian companies hand out aid to Palestinian civilians. Those entering the “sterile zone” in Rafah will undergo a security screening by the IDF to prevent Hamas from taking aid, the official says.
The official says the IDF’s deployment prior to the start of the major operation “will provide a window of opportunity until the end of the US president’s visit to the region to carry out a hostage deal according to the ‘Witkoff framework.’”
“In such a case, Israel will seek to retain territory that has been cleared and added to the security zone… In any temporary or permanent arrangement, Israel will not evacuate the security zone around Gaza, which is intended to protect communities and prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas,” he says.
“If no hostage deal is carried out, Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ will begin with great intensity and will not stop until all its objectives are achieved,” the official warns.
The official adds that plans to allow Gazans to voluntarily emigrate abroad, "especially those concentrated in the south outside of Hamas control, will be part of the operation’s objectives."*
