By EMANUEL FABIAN and TOI STAFF<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Military chief Herzi Halevi has warned Israel\u2019s leaders that gains made over three-plus months of fighting in Gaza could be squandered due to the lack of a plan for postwar management and security of the enclave, according to a report Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The alleged comments by Halevi in recent weeks were reflective of consternation among military analysts and others regarding the lack of preparation for a so-called \u201cday after\u201d in Gaza, as Israel winds down the intensive phase of its military campaign against the Hamas terror group, which has ruled the enclave since 2007 and which, though weakened, remains in power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are facing the erosion of gains made thus far in the war because no strategy has been put together for the day after,\u201d Channel 13 news cited Halevi as saying in private conversations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Halevi also warned that the Israel Defense Forces \u201cmay need to go back and operate in areas where we have already concluded the fighting,\u201d according to the channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Attempts by the government to convene ministers for conversations on managing the Strip and keeping Hamas out of power as the military pulls back have been hampered by infighting within the security cabinet and issues regarding the timing of the meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gallant said Monday that the \u201cintensive phase\u201d of Israel\u2019s ground offensive in northern Gaza has ended, and would soon be over in the Khan Younis area of the Strip\u2019s south as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But he also warned that \u201cpolitical indecision\u201d regarding the future of Gaza \u201cmay harm the progress of the military operation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe future government in Gaza must grow from the Gaza Strip. Gaza will be ruled by Palestinians. The end of the military campaign must be anchored in policy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Troops have been carrying out operations at a lower intensity in northern Gaza for the past several weeks, after the military said it had defeated all of Hamas\u2019s battalions in the area. The soldiers have been working to locate the remaining Hamas sites and kill or capture the terror group\u2019s last operatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Channel 13 news, unnamed defense figures fear that Hamas could regroup in areas once the IDF pulls out, without an effective solution to fill the power vacuum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe way we want to finish this needs to be decided on,\u201d one unnamed source was quoted saying by the network. \u201cThe current achievements of the war are dissipating. A civilian element will be needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The military campaign is winding down even as many Hamas battalions remain intact and most of its top leadership still at large.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel has consistently vowed that it will not reoccupy the enclave, but has also maintained that it will likely need to keep some security presence for pinpoint operations, to keep Hamas from rebuilding the capabilities that allowed it to carry out its October 7 massacre in southern Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IDF has assessed that fighting in Gaza will likely last throughout all of 2024, as Israel works to strip Hamas of its military and governing capabilities. It has also vowed to continue fighting until all remaining hostages are released from captivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would like to reiterate, at the end of the war, there will be no military threat from Gaza. Hamas will not be able to control and function as a military force in the Gaza Strip, and the IDF will have full freedom of action to do whatever is required to defend the citizens of Israel,\u201d Gallant said Monday. \u201cIt may take a long time, but it will end with a single scenario, total victory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
War erupted between Israel and Hamas with the terror group\u2019s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing over 240 hostages of all ages \u2014 mostly civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vowing to destroy the terror group, Israel launched a wide-scale military campaign in Gaza, which the Hamas-run health ministry has said killed over 24,000 people since. The figure cannot be independently verified, and is believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of terror groups\u2019 own rocket misfires. The IDF says it has killed over 9,000 operatives in Gaza, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on and immediately after October 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Source: The Times of Israel)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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