(Ynet News) Ron Ben-Yishai - Hamas's demands for a ceasefire in Gaza before even considering any negotiation is delaying the end of the war. While aid trucks enter Gaza from Israel, they face looting on the way to distribution centers, or they are intercepted by Hamas, crime families and profiteers who sell the supplies at inflated prices. Hamas is trying to deflect IDF pressure by circulating reports of mass starvation. Meanwhile, Hamas is recruiting teenagers, aged 14 to 17, to join its ranks as armed operatives. Looking to the future, the IDF plans to maintain an intelligence-operational presence in Gaza - without full occupation, military governance or direct responsibility for humanitarian distribution. To provide security for Israeli civilians, the IDF intends to maintain control over secure corridors, including the Philadelphi Corridor - to prevent external support to Hamas from Sinai, alongside a security buffer zone approximately a kilometer wide on Gaza's side of the border. These corridors will enable intelligence operations that closely monitor activities within Gaza, aimed at detecting any Hamas attempts to rebuild its military capabilities. The corridors would enable IDF forces to rapidly deploy to any area in Gaza where intelligence identifies renewed weapons production, rocket fire, or preparations for terror attacks and guerrilla operations by Hamas or other groups.
2024-11-17 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive