Israel preparing for ‘major assault’ on Gaza to occupy huge swaths of territory: US media

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his newly-appointed security team are reportedly planning a large-scale ground assault against the Gaza Strip in order to capture and hold swaths of territory that will allow them to defeat the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

The Wall Street Journal carried the report on Monday, saying the regime sought to stage the assault with the self-proclaimed goal of defeating Gaza’s Hamas resistance movement.

The regime, the report added, believed that military defeat for Hamas was, according to Tel Aviv, crucial before any political solutions could be even considered.

The movement, its allies, and even the regime’s own allied states have, however, defined the group as invincible in light of its battleground savvy and strategy, as well as its popularity among Palestinians and the anti-occupation regional peoples and governments.

In an interview with the regime’s Channel 13 last June, former Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said, “Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people — whoever thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong.”

Hagari’s acknowledgment of Hamas invincibility attests to Israel’s defeat in Gaza: Official

A senior Hamas official says remarks by the Israeli military spokesman on the impossibility of eliminating the group shows that the regime has failed in its war on Gaza.

A senior Hamas official says remarks by the Israeli military spokesman on the impossibility of eliminating the group shows that the regime has failed in its war on Gaza. Anyone promising this was “throwing sand in the face of the Israeli public," he had added.

Earlier this month, the Israeli military resumed the regime’s war of genocide on the coastal sliver that had begun in October 2023, stopping briefly following Tel Aviv’s entering a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, which it would regularly violate before re-launching the wholesale brutal onslaught.

The escalation is aimed at forcing the movement into releasing those of the regime’s captives, who remain in Gaza in one batch, without Tel Aviv’s keeping its side of the bargain by letting the ceasefire deal transit into its second phase, releasing thousands of Palestinian prisoners, ceasing its bloodletting in the Palestinian territory, and enacting a complete withdrawal from it.

Hagari had, however, emphasized that it would be "impossible" to return all the regime’s captives through the offensive, underlining the need for a “scenario,” where the captives would be returned in another manner.

The WSJ report added, though that the Israeli officials were laying the groundwork for further significant escalation, supposedly aiming to break Hamas's hold on the Palestinian territory.

The regime has already restaged the ground assault that it used to conduct against Gaza after the war, deploying infantry forces into Gaza’s northern areas and the retaking of the Netzarim Corridor, an area giving Israeli forces an upper hand to step the regime’s attacks on central and northern Gaza. Tel Aviv had previously relinquished the area as part of the ceasefire.

Additionally, Israeli forces have ramped up airstrikes and assassinated several of Hamas political figures in the territory.

The plan, championed by Netanyahu and bolstered by other key warlike figures such as minister for military affairs Israel Katz and General Eyal Zamir, rests on the belief that Hamas had to be militarily defeated on the battlefield before any political resolution could be pursued, the American paper wrote.

With the backing of the administration of US President Donald Trump, which has ramped up arms and ammunition supplies to the regime, Netanyahu’s team believes they have the necessary resources to press forward with the offensive, it added.

The majority of regime’s illegal settlers, who have been pressing it with thousands-strong protests into coming to terms with Hamas to enable the release of the rest of the captives, nevertheless, discourage further aggression.

They argue, according to polls, that Tel Aviv had to abide by the ceasefire rather than to step up its atrocities.

Those against additional aggression include many right-wing voters, who have contributed to Netanyahu’s drawn-out political longevity.

A survey by the so-called “Israel Democracy Institute” found earlier this month that 73% of the settlers, including a majority of Netanyahu’s own Likud party members, supported negotiation with Hamas.

Reports have, meanwhile, been emerging pointing to the Israeli premier’s efforts at undermining negotiations and firing the officials supporting the talks.

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Throughout its course, the genocide has claimed the lives of more than 50,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, with many more displaced.

Notwithstanding the brutality, Hamas has remained resilient, continuing to recruit fighters and senior leaders and strengthen its defensive capabilities.

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In January 2025, the group reportedly appointed a new leader, signaling its continued defiance in the face of mounting aggression.

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