Why Is It Taking So Long To Completely Beat Hamas?
A debate between Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir may help explain things.
Why is it taking so long for the IDF to truly finish off Hamas after almost two years of fighting, albeit with some ceasefires in between? Why can't the IDF just "wrap it up" and finish the job?
According to reporter and commentator Amit Segal says that IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said that it could take up to five years to completely root out all remaining Hamas forces and infrastructure, as the terrorist group has now broken up into such small units that it cannot be destroyed in any one operation.
However, this time estimate relates to the final victory over Hamas. The timeline for conquering the remaining parts of the Gaza Strip and then imposing some form of IDF or non-Hamas rule is about 3-4 months.
That's where the debate between Finance Minister Smotrich and Zamir comes in. Smotrich wants the entire Strip occupied, even if it risks the lives of the hostages, while Zamir prefers to encircle and cut off Hamas forces in Gaza City and in the central camps, allowing civilians to move south and avoiding directly endangering the hostages.