Israel Unveils New Plan to Increase Military Control of Gaza

What Happened?

Israel’s government approved a new plan to add additional military forces to Gaza and increase long term control of the Gaza Strip. Describing the new plan, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, ‘the plan differs from previous ones by shifting from raid-based operations to the occupation of territory and sustaining it.’

The new security plan was unanimously approved by Israel’s security cabinet Sunday night. To support and provide manpower for the new operation Israel issued call-up orders to tens of thousands of reservists over the past weekend.

Why it Matters

The Israeli military already controls some seventy percent of Gaza, and the new plan calls for that number to increase. In practical terms, Israel appears to be undertaking what amounts to a slow-motion takeover of the entire Gaza Strip. The amount of Gaza not under direct Israeli military control is shrinking and this new plan will reduce it even further.

For Palestinians the new plan means more people will be crowded into a shrinking amount of physical space. That will likely exacerbate supply problems such as the transportation and delivery of food, medicine, and other international aid. Hamas has recently executed civilians it accused of stealing supplies, an action which illustrates the severity of the problem.

For Israel’s military, the expanded operation will place more Israeli soldiers in Gaza on a longer-term basis, which will be more expensive and riskier. The extra expense will come from the need to keep those soldiers supplied, and more soldiers in Gaza means more potential targets for Hamas or their affiliates to attack. 

The potential gains for Israel are an increased capacity to find and capture or eliminate Hamas operatives, who still hide in a vast network of tunnels beneath Gaza. The Israeli Defense Force’s Chief of Staff emphasized the latter in public comments by saying, ‘We will operate in additional areas and destroy all infrastructure — above and below ground.’

How Hamas allies, such as Iran, will respond to the new Israeli plan remains unknown. While Iran has a significant ballistic missile capability, targeting Israeli soldiers in Gaza risks killing Palestinians, which the Iranian regime would like to avoid. Another option could be renewed attacks on Israel itself with more large-scale missile swarms of the kind Iran launched last year.

In any case, the expanded Israeli ground operation in Gaza proves the fragile peace deal signed earlier this year is no longer in effect. 

How it Affects You

The expanded Israeli ground operation in Gaza is a strong indication that the conflict is likely to continue for many more months. The Houthi launched a ballistic missile that struck Israel this weekend, and with continued fighting in Gaza, the likelihood of a military response from Iran is high.