The Israeli army estimates that it may take a year, and it indicates the possibility of 100 soldiers being killed in the battle. The army warned that this step would endanger the lives of prisoners and would not achieve a decisive victory against “Hamas”, necessitating the complete occupation of the sector and the imposition of military rule.
Channel reports that Israeli Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir told Netanyahu’s cabinet ministers during the session, “Now is the right time to move toward a partial deal, we must not lose momentum. All security chiefs, including Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Acting Shin Bet Chief, supported this approach during the meeting,” adding, “Think carefully about the decisions, there is a deal on the table.”
The channel reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu categorically rejected this path, stressing that “there is no partial deal on the table, and I have support from US President Donald Trump in this regard.” In the same context, the Israeli channel “i24 News” reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu told the heads of security agencies, “I hear your positions, but in the end, I am the one who decides and you must abide by the decision.” Zamir responded by saying, “What the cabinet decides, the army will execute with high efficiency.”
The channel indicated that the cabinet ministers concluded that the Prime Minister would not go for a partial deal at this stage. The Israeli army announced last Wednesday the call-up of about 60,000 reservists and the extension of the service of 20,000 others as part of the second phase of the “Chariots of Gideon” operation, which will be executed in Gaza City, following the approval of Defense Minister Yisrael Katz on plans to take control of the city.
The Israeli army radio reported that “in the coming days, the army will begin pushing Gaza City residents to the south,” clarifying that the army has begun the preliminary phase of taking control of the city by launching focused military operations in the Zaitun neighborhood and Jabalia area, east of Gaza City.
The plan is to displace about a million Palestinians from the city to the southern sector before encircling it and starting incursions into residential areas. On August 11, the army effectively began implementing the first phase with a massive attack on the Zaitun neighborhood southeast of the city, which included blowing up houses with booby-trapped robots, artillery shelling, random gunfire, and forced displacement operations.
This comes at a time when the Palestinian movement “Hamas” announced last Monday its approval of a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, including a partial exchange of prisoners and detainees, followed by negotiations aimed at achieving peace. However, Israel has not yet officially responded to the proposal.
It was supposed to continue once the first phase, which ended on March 1, was extended or enter its second phase, but disagreements between Israel and Hamas over the next steps prevented this. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the Gaza Strip is witnessing a “humanitarian disaster,” while the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed the need to end the war in Gaza and launch Israeli-Palestinian negotiations aimed at achieving a two-state solution to establish an independent Palestinian state coexisting peacefully and securely with Israel.
