Occupied Jerusalem – "The road to a decisive outcome is still long as it turns out that the Hamas movement is a never-ending terror army… scenes from Khan Yunis city," headlines Yoav Zitun, the military correspondent for "Yedioth Ahronoth" in his report, in which he shares his impressions of the ground battles in the Shuja'iyya, Jabaliya, and Khan Yunis.
The correspondent's insights, documented while accompanying the Israeli occupation forces, align with the prevailing belief in the Israeli army that the war on Gaza will extend for several more months. Any declaration of an imminent destruction of Hamas's military power and the toppling of its rule in the enclave is deemed disconnected from reality.
In Khan Yunis, Zitun describes the ground battles and skirmishes, saying, "The fighting, alongside the presence of civilians who haven't been evacuated, has become slower and more dangerous. The soldiers are preparing to launch special attacks on specific targets, but suddenly, militants fire grenades even from cities and areas whose inhabitants have already fled."
The military correspondent highlights that the Israeli army is relying on "commando" units to conduct operations and maneuvers aimed at rattling – referring to the tunnel network – where senior Hamas officials are believed to hide. Yet, contrary to the situation in northern Gaza, the situation in Khan Yunis is more complex and perplexing.
The War is Still Long
Soldiers from combat battalions, backed by tanks, engineering excavators, and infantry units, move to attack pinpointed targets. The military correspondent comments, "In some instances, Gaza's populace continues their routine and everyday life next to Israeli forces, moving around shops, schools, Hamas's civil institutions, and commercial centers."
In this context, the Israeli forces in Khan Yunis also face thousands of other Hamas fighters who managed to escape from northern Gaza at the beginning of the ground operation and strengthened the local battalions in the city, according to the military correspondent.
Zitun breaks down the Israeli military mission in Khan Yunis into two dimensions: the visible upper city and the lower dimension, which has been designed as a separate underground world within the tunnel network. According to Israeli military estimates, this is where senior Hamas leaders are located.
The same war correspondent presents what he considers "significant evidence of Hamas's control over the Khan Yunis brigades," concluding that the military operation in the city must continue for several more weeks, perhaps with the priority being a deeper penetration. However, he advises against further fighting in congested neighborhoods or tall buildings, focusing instead on combat in open rural areas.
The correspondent asserts that even in northern Gaza, pockets of resistance, in his words, remain. "The army forces that arrived and took control of the area at the beginning of the ground maneuver still encounter resistance and engage in armed clashes with Hamas fighters," he explains, referring to the reality in Jabaliya and Shuja'iyya.
With an unending arsenal of Hamas weapons and military means, the military correspondent concludes that "the Israeli army has come to the understanding that the end of the war is still many months away, and any imminent declaration of Hamas' defeat and destruction is certainly detached from reality and akin to an illusion."
A Comprehensive Prisoner Exchange Deal
In the same vein, Amos Harel, the military analyst for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, reviews the declared Israeli objectives behind the war and the ground military operation in the strip. These objectives, summarized by the overthrow of Hamas's rule and the destruction of its military force, and the liberation of all Israeli detainees, are conflicting again, he says. Every additional day poses a deadly risk to the hostages.
After a month and a half of ground penetration into the enclave, the military analyst says, "It's difficult to see how the army can dismantle Hamas's rule and free the detainees. Despite the kidnapped families' demands, the Israeli government stalls in resuming negotiations due to the army's fear that it might undermine the ongoing fighting and also due to Netanyahu's political considerations."
He explained that the incident in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood, where 3 hostages were killed by the Israeli army's fire by mistake, shows that the ground operation and the intensification of military actions did not lead to the liberation of any hostage alive. Instead, it proved to be a deadly threat to the lives of the detainees and has inflicted devastating losses on the Israeli army with casualties among officers and soldiers.
The military analyst believes that if the incident in the Shuja'iyya had ended with "a heroic rescue of the hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have certainly boasted before the Israeli public that his firm policy against terrorism was solely responsible for achieving such a feat."
However, he says, "The opposite happened. Netanyahu simply disappeared as if he were not a leader. He fears the disintegration of his government if he agrees to a comprehensive deal that would empty Israeli prisons of Palestinian prisoners. Meanwhile, the military isn't interested in halting the fighting for a small-scale deal, fearing the loss of momentum in the offensive in northern and southern Gaza."
Hamas's Tactical Successes
As an indication that the ground incursion has not contributed to the liberation of any of the hostages, and in light of clashes and battles in northern Gaza, in areas the army announced to be under its military control, the military correspondent for the "Maariv" newspaper, Tal Lev-Ram, believes that "There's no room for declarations as if victory is near."
From the military analyst's perspective, the war in Gaza is not a show war. "It's a tough war that takes time and requires the realization that alongside operational achievements, there will also be difficult events for the army, as well as tactical successes for Hamas, which is far from waving the white flag."
Based on the assumption of the Israeli security establishment, Lev-Ram states that "the dismantling of Hamas's military capabilities will require many more months of combat. The most pressing goal right now is the mission of bringing the kidnapped back to the country."
The Maneuver Did Not Liberate the Hostages
The military analyst highlights that the Shuja'iyya incident well demonstrates the need to free the hostages. It was possible to respond to the call to cease fighting to release a group of hostages in an exchange deal, but he says, "There was no actual detailed plan on the agenda of the Israeli government that insisted on the military option."
He pointed out that the Israeli establishment still clings to the position asserting that ongoing military pressure on Hamas alone would lead to progress in the hostages' case. However, he notes, "The Israeli army continues its intense attacks on the strip and military pressures on Hamas leaders but without any progress in the hostages' case so far."
Lev-Ram believes that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has realized the importance of the protests and pressures exerted by the families of the hostages on the government and Israeli public opinion. Now, they demand, as a precondition for new prisoner exchange negotiations, an immediate ceasefire by the Israeli army.
