Occupying Gaza: What's The Government Considering?

The cabinet is currently debating a plan to complete the occupation of the Gaza Strip and the destruction of remaining Hamas forces in two stages. First, Gaza City will be occupied. Next, the central camps will be taken, according to multiple Israeli media outlets.

According to Channel 12 News, the goal of this plan is to achieve the kind of military pressure forcing Hamas into a deal which did not materialize during Operation Gideon's Chariots. Thus, the government retains the option of stopping the operation midway at any point if Hamas agrees to Israel's terms.

However, multiple Israeli sources have told Israeli media that Hamas does not presently seem interested in a deal on terms acceptable or tolerable to Israel. This is no small part due to the successful media campaign by Hamas government officials to convince international media and western governments that Israel is starving the Gazan population deliberately, often using children with rare genetic or degenerative disorders as proof of a mass famine.

An important part of the IDF plan is to expand humanitarian aid direct to the Gazan population, secure from any effort to steal it. According to the UN's own numbers, almost 90% of aid trucks are looted by armed groups or looting mobs, depriving large numbers of Gazans, especially women, children, and elderly of much needed supplies.

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said that the Gaza Humanitarian Fund, which operates separately from the UN, could expand its operations from 4 to as many as 16 aid stations depending on staffing and funding. This would ensure that much more aid is delivered straight to Gazans rather than stolen by terrorist groups and criminals.

According to i24 News, Gaza City will be properly emptied this time of anything but Hamas forces, and the amount of aid will be quadrupled to reduce international pressure and ensure the continued operations, which are expected to last months.