Israeli Chief of Staff told Netanyahu that controlling Gaza city will require 6 months
Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Sunday that Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that taking control of Gaza City would require approximately six months.
The Israeli channel added that Zamir sent a clear message to the political leadership in a closed session, stating that “even after the IDF intensifies its operations in Gaza City, Hamas won’t be defeated militarily or politically”.
According to the channel 12, Zamir indicated that the goal of his position was to unify expectations with the government regarding the results of the anticipated ground operation in Gaza.
Zamir explained during a security meeting, “We’re committed to the war’s objectives as defined by the government, but Hamas won’t be defeated militarily or politically even after the operation to seize control of Gaza City”.
According to Zamir’s assessment, achieving a complete defeat of Hamas will require continuing its advance beyond Gaza City, reaching the central military bases as well, and controlling the area from a civilian perspective.
Zamir himself previously confirmed, according to Channel 12, that he doesn’t want the Israeli army to assume civilian responsibility in areas it occupies, and that this matter will ultimately be decided by the political leadership.
Regarding the challenges of evacuating residents and the rate of departure of the central city’s residents from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military command estimates that the entry into Gaza will be gradual but with great force.
Its assumed that most residents will agree to leave only at the last minute, which requires careful planning by field forces.
Palestinian officials said Sunday that Israeli forces destroyed at least 30 residential buildings in Gaza City, forcing thousands to flee their homes, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel for talks on the conflict.
Israel has said it intends to seize control of the city, where nearly one million Palestinians are sheltering, as part of its stated goal of eliminating Hamas.
It has intensified its attacks on the city, describing it as the last stronghold of the Palestinian movement.
Israel targeted the movement’s political leadership, which had been negotiating a possible ceasefire and hostage release, with an airstrike in Doha on Tuesday in an attack that drew widespread condemnation.
The nearly two-year Israeli campaign has killed more than 64,000 people in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities.
Israel launched the campaign following a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli data.
