Yaakov Amidror: These Are Israel's Options In Gaza
Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, former National Security Adviser to the State of Israel, gave an interview to Haaretz's podcast last weekend, where he said Israel's situation is much better than we think.
Israel has been managing the war with Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and other enemies "very wisely" according to Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, who spoke to an Haaretz podcast last weekend and whose main points were summarized today (Sunday) on X by The Marker reporter Uriel Shachter.
Amidror said, based on the knowledge he possesses, that Hamas now operates at the level of terrorist cells spread throughout the Gaza Strip, rather than the 30,000-40,000 strong regular armed force it was at the start of the war. It does not even have a centralized command responsible for training forces, building up weapons and arsenals, or directing attacks on IDF soldiers or Israeli civilians.
However, because Hamas still controls the Gaza Strip, especially civil governance and the distribution of aid, Israel cannot simply leave the Strip and declare "mission accomplished," as this would allow Hamas to rebuild itself and its forces and then launch more October 7 style attacks.
Amidror also said that no alternative or technocratic government can be established in the Strip without Hamas being defeated, as that would lead to a pre-2024 Lebanese-style situation where the government reigns and Hamas rules. Gazans would suffer terribly since no-one would want to invest in helping Hamas become more powerful again, and the threat to Israel would remain serious.
Even worse, every enemy of Israel would interpret such a consequence as Israel having lost the war, with all its consequent results for deterrence against terrorist and other attacks.
Regarding the international pressure that Israel faces, Amidror believes the main danger comes from the United States turning on Israel, and even then the country must decide how to continue to remove a genuine threat to its existence. Europe, on the other hand, is not as dangerous as it was never that helpful in involvement in the Strip, anyway.
Amidror rejected the idea that the GHF was a failure in helping to replace the existing mechanisms for distributing aid, but rather only a partial solution. He also denied that there was a famine per se in Gaza, only artificial food shortages and hunger due to Hamas looting and hoarding of food.
While not against the idea of the Palestinian Authority taking over the Strip, he noted that this is unfeasible so long as Hamas still has power there.