The Israeli military says it is not dragging its feet in the Gaza Strip and is continuing to ramp up pressure on Hamas to bring the terror group to agree to a hostage deal, but is not moving ahead with a major offensive yet. Such a major offensive, which is intended to defeat Hamas on the battlefield, would likely cause the ceasefire-hostage negotiations to completely collapse, according to the military. The IDF has set no deadline for when the major offensive would begin, and it would be decided upon by the political echelon. Additionally, the IDF says its plans, including concerning the call-up of reservists, have not been adjusted due to a wave of letters published by reservists and veterans, calling for the release of the hostages even at the cost of ending the war. Meanwhile, the IDF says its current operation against Hamas is intended to continue pressure on the terror group, while also preparing the ground for the potential major offensive. The current operation is being carried out slowly, both to ensure the safety of troops and guarantee that hostage talks can continue, it says. The military expects that as long as the operation goes on, and more territory is captured, troops will encounter more “friction” with Hamas operatives, who are currently being pushed back and largely not engaging Israeli forces. So far, since Israel resumed its operations in Gaza on March 18, the IDF estimates that it has killed 350 members of terror groups, including 40 senior Hamas political officials and mid-level military wing commanders. Over 1,200 targets have been struck during that time, according to the IDF. A major focus of recent airstrikes in Gaza has been Hamas governance officials, including members of the terror group’s politburo and its police force. The IDF has identified that these strikes, along with the blockade on humanitarian aid entering the Strip, have resulted in increased pressure by Palestinian civilians against Hamas, taking place in the form of protests in the streets of Gaza. The military says there is no starvation in Gaza, and there is enough food to last the population for now. The IDF says it does not want there to be starvation in Gaza, which would harm its legitimacy to act against Hamas. Another focus has been on destroying Hamas’s already depleting weapon stocks. Hamas has been attempting to rearm itself, while mostly avoiding fighting with troops at this stage. The IDF says it seeks to remove as many weapons as possible now, before entering a potential major offensive. The military has also vastly expanded its buffer zones along the Gaza border — comprising around 30% of the Strip — which Defense Minister Israel Katz has said that the IDF will hold permanently. In the south of the Strip, the military has been establishing the Morag Corridor, cutting off Rafah from Khan Younis. In the area, the IDF has already discovered several major tunnels connecting between the two cities. After the military completes operations inside Rafah, the IDF’s buffer zone in southern Gaza will stretch from the Egypt border to the outskirts of Khan Younis — more than 5 kilometers away — and include the entire city of Rafah within it. The buffer zone elsewhere on the border with Gaza has also been expanded from several hundred meters to around 2 kilometers in most areas. Troops are currently working to expand the buffer zone in Gaza City’s eastern neighborhoods of Shejaiya, Daraj, and Tuffah. Half of the Netzarim Corridor, just south of Gaza City, is also being held by the IDF, up to the Salah a-Din road. At any point, the IDF says it can recapture the western half of the corridor and bisect the Strip again.
