As the death toll in Gaza passed 50,000, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, the Israel Defense Forces continues to gradually extend the scope of its ground operation as speculation mounts that Israel’s ultimate aim is to reinstate military rule across the beleaguered coastal enclave.
Israel’s surprise air strikes last week marked the end of the fragile ceasefire agreed in January and troops are now operating in various locations across Gaza as daily air strikes continue, as the IDF seeks to eliminate Hamas fighters and the militant group’s political leadership.
Units from the Golani infantry brigade have recently been reassigned from Israel’s northern border to the Gaza area in preparation for a wider military thrust. However, there has still been no widespread calling-up of the IDF reserves, as Israel waits to see if the military pressure can bring about a further hostage release.
The IDF’s new top general, Eyal Zamir, has presented a plan to Israel’s leaders for a large-scale ground operation, which he believes can lead to the complete destruction of Hamas’s military capabilities and civilian control.
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Having rejected any role for either Hamas or the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority in administering a postwar Gaza, the Israeli government is weighing the option of reassuming military rule, as was the case before the 2005 disengagement when Israel pulled out of the territory, after dismantling all 21 Jewish settlements.
However, such a plan was strongly opposed by the former IDF top general, Herzl Halevi, who argued that he didn’t want to put troops in danger distributing aid to Palestinians.
Such a plan is being encouraged by far-right coalition members who ultimately aim to restore Jewish settlement in Gaza while encouraging the local population to emigrate.
Foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Monday that Israel hadn’t yet decided on whether to impose a military government on Gaza.
There has also been scant discussion on the long-term implications of such a move. The cost of taking responsibility for the more than two million Gaza residents would be enormous, as would the manpower burden on the IDF, at a time when many reservists have already spent hundreds of days in uniform since the start of the Gaza war.
Defence minister Yisrael Katz, meanwhile, has set up a “voluntary migration office” for Gaza residents who express interest in relocating to other countries, even though no country has yet offered to host Gazans.
“We are using all available means to implement the vision of the US president and will allow any Gazan resident who wishes to relocate to a third country to do so voluntarily,” he told a weekend cabinet meeting.
