Gaza's plan plan exposes restrictions on Israeli army

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Feliz Solomon, The Wall Street Journal 5 min Read 09 Aug 2025, 11:30 are the sun bags behind buildings destroyed during the Israeli land and air operations in the northern Gaza strip. (AP) Summary operation will begin with a limited step to take over Gaza City as troop restrictions and war mercy hit at home. Israeli authorities say the occupation of the entire Gaza strip threatened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to start with a closer goal – to abandon the control of the city of Gaza – which reflects serious resource restrictions that are likely to limit the rate and scope of military operations. After nearly two years of intense conflict arising from an assault on southern Israel by the Palestinian Islamic militant group Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people, the troops of Israel were exhausted, and a large majority of citizens say they want an agreement to end the war and free hostage. Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israeli forces will take over the entire strip, a Palestinian enclave of about two million people along the Mediterranean coast, to disarm Hamas and remove it from power. The plan has been approved by the security cabinet, which says the military will start with Gaza City. Israel did not say when the operation would start, how long it would take or how many troops it may need. Military analysts said it could play out over weeks or months. Help groups say they are concerned that any offensive efforts to provide food and medical care to residents will further limit. Gaza City is the largest population center in the northern part of the strip, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. The dense urban landscape – with a web of underground tunnels used by militants – makes it a difficult battlefield. Some survived Israeli hostages are believed to be held there. Amir Avivi, a former Israeli defense official who is close to the current government, would require rapid progress with tens of thousands of soldiers, says Amir Avivi, a former Israeli defense official who is close to the current government. It is likely that Israel will choose a more gradual operation that puts less tension on manpower, he said. “Israel is trying to find a balance and not conquer everything, but to concentrate in a critical field,” he said. Some analysts said Israel hopes that the increased military pressure will bring Hamas back on the negotiating table and interrupt the operation at any point. But this is a big risk, given the pressure on the military and the risks to Israel’s international image and internal support. With the threat of a complete takeover, Israel may have “bitten more than it can chew,” says Yoel Guzansky, a senior fellow at the Institute of National Security Studies, a thinking tank in Tel Aviv. Israel’s own army expressed doubts about the idea. Military chief Eyal Zamir opposed the idea, warning that he fell into the traps by Hamas and the need to rest his troops. Since a ceasefire collapsed in March, Israel has taken over about 75% of the Gaza Strip, and parts of Gaza City are already under his control. The Army ordered two more neighborhoods on Thursday – all Daraj and all Tuffah – to be evacuated in response to what was said was rocket fire from the areas. The shortage of manpower is among Israel’s chief restrictions, says Israeli officials, because the military has been fighting for almost two years across several fronts in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank. Commanders say it is becoming more difficult to persuade reservists to show up for new rounds of battles in Gaza. Their service is not optional, but there are some giving and taking in Israel, trying to accommodate family conditions or financial pressure, especially given the long deployments. Over the past few weeks, the Army has moved troops from Gaza to give soldiers a little rest. Several reservists told the Wall Street Journal they would not return to Gaza if they were called again. The tension on soldiers contributed to flaging public support for the war. For months, the polls in Israel showed that a large majority of the population ended the war in exchange for the release of the hostages. In a recent survey by the Achord Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, it was found that 79% of Israelis felt that the War in Gaza had ended is the most urgent national task. Families of Hamas hostage also fear military operations in areas where people are still being detained can jeopardize them. If Israeli troops pushed in Gaza city, it would probably command evacuations, increase the number of displaced people and exacerbate the humanitarian situation. The United Nations says hunger deaths and malnutrition are increasing. These are also deadly incidents near auxiliary distribution sites and convoy routes, where the Army of Israel acknowledged that he said to Palestinians crowds that he had come too close to his positions. Israel’s plan is at risk of deepening its international isolation. Germany, a close ally of Israel, will formally suspend the sales of weapons that Israel can use in the Gaza Strip until further notice, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Israel made a bad decision to expand the war and pushed it to reconsider. Arab governments are asking the US to help the offensive move forward and return the parties to the negotiating table, people who are familiar with efforts said. President Trump expressed concern about hunger, but said that a decision to take over the entire Gaza was to Israel. Netanyahu suggested on Thursday that although Israel plans to take control of the entire Gaza, the enclave would eventually be administered by the Arab forces. Arab governments, which pushed various plans for the post -war Gaza and a path to a Palestinian state that opposed Israel, are reluctant to step in and be seen as foreign conquerors that Netanyahu protrudes. Regional neighbors are also concerned that the plan could eventually push more Gazane to seek refuge within their borders, people said. Analysts expressed doubt as to whether the threat of profession would be enough to break the logjam into conversations to reach a ceasefire. Israel and the US pulled their teams out of the talks last month and said Hamas was not interested in reaching an agreement. Hamas said it was negotiating too good faith. “Maybe Israel is in a way to rush to military methods, which may be a mistake at the end of the day, but they do not have many options,” says Israel Ziv, a retired Israeli general who was once the head of Israel’s Gaza division. Write to Feliz Solomon at [email protected], catch all the business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on live currency. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #Israel-Hamas War Read Next Story