Egypt Daily News – An Israeli official and a second informed source have stated that Israel is planning a possible major ground offensive in Gaza, involving tens of thousands of soldiers to clear and occupy large areas of the territory.
The potential large-scale attack is one of several scenarios under consideration by the Israeli government as mentioned by the Israeli official, as it intensifies its strikes on Gaza, aiming to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages without negotiating an end to the war.
As Egypt and Qatar work to revive a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, one source suggested that leaks about a large-scale ground invasion are part of Israel’s strategy to exert further pressure on Hamas at the negotiating table.
The Israeli official have previously indicated that they would halt attacks if Hamas agrees to release more hostages. However, the Israeli military, under its newly appointed and more aggressive Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, has been preparing plans for a major operation in Gaza for weeks.
“If hostage negotiations are not renewed, the only remaining alternative is to resume fighting. There are serious plans,” said Eyal Hulata, former head of Israel’s National Security Council, in an interview with CNN.
Israel has launched multiple ground incursions into Gaza throughout the war, but its forces have often withdrawn within days or weeks after defeating Hamas fighters in targeted areas. Without an Israeli military presence or an alternative ruling authority, Hamas has frequently re-emerged in those areas, forcing Israeli troops to return.
Under one of the scenarios currently under review, Israeli forces would clear vast sections of Gaza of Hamas fighters and then occupy those areas to prevent the group’s resurgence. This could lead to Israel’s prolonged occupation of Gaza and years of insurgency. Sources indicated that a large-scale invasion could involve five Israeli divisions—approximately 50,000 soldiers.
Retired Israeli General Israel Ziv, who served for 35 years in the military, including as head of operations at the Joint Staff, said that “the government is escalating pressure to bring Hamas back to the negotiating table on Israel’s terms.”
“But the problem, of course, is that once you escalate, you might find yourself deep in the swamp at the end of the road. That’s the risk—nobody knows if it will succeed or not,” Ziv warned.
He added, “Once you threaten something, you have to be prepared to carry it out.”
The Israeli military has already begun laying the groundwork for a broader ground campaign, reclaiming half of the Netzarim Corridor—a route Israel created to separate northern Gaza from the rest of the Strip—and positioning forces in strategic locations across northern and southern Gaza.
On Sunday, the Israeli government approved the establishment of an agency to facilitate the “voluntary relocation” of Palestinians from Gaza to third countries, although no nation has agreed to accept them.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in Gaza a central war objective, vowing to achieve “absolute victory.”
However, a broader, prolonged Israeli military campaign in Gaza could also face strong opposition from the Israeli public. A majority of Israelis are demanding a deal to secure the release of the remaining 59 hostages still held in Gaza rather than continuing the war.
“What we will see is a permanent IDF presence fighting an insurgency on the ground. There will be no choice but for the IDF to take responsibility for humanitarian aid,” Hulata said.
Since early March, Israel has blocked all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, worsening the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
Ziv noted that maintaining an occupation in Gaza “is not in Israel’s interest, at least for now.” He acknowledged that for some far-right extremists in the government, such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, occupation may be the ultimate goal, but he argued that “it is certainly not the best policy for Israel at this moment.”
Before Israel ended the recent ceasefire last week, a March 9 poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute showed that nearly three-quarters of Israelis supported a deal to end the war with Hamas in exchange for the release of all hostages.
Recently freed hostages and the families of those still held captive have warned that resuming full-scale war in Gaza would only further endanger the estimated 24 hostages still believed to be alive.
However, Netanyahu’s political priorities may lie elsewhere. Key members of his far-right ruling coalition are demanding a return to total war instead of negotiating a settlement for hostage release.
Netanyahu’s aides believe that former U.S. President Donald Trump would be more supportive of a large-scale Israeli military operation than former President Joe Biden, who previously suspended certain weapons shipments to prevent an Israeli assault on Gaza’s heavily populated southern region.
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz has hinted at the possibility of expanding military operations on a much larger scale. Last week, he stated that he had “ordered the IDF to seize additional territory and evacuate its residents.”
“The longer Hamas continues its refusal, the more land it will lose to Israel,” Katz declared in a statement on Friday.
