Iran's attack on Israel has shifted its focus from the war in Gaza, where Israel's military operations are aimed at eliminating Hamas, the militant group that controlled the area before the fighting began. .
The Israeli military began attacking Gaza on October 7th. Hamas led the attack, which Israeli authorities said killed about 1,200 people. Israel said its aim was to defeat Hamas and free hostages taken that day, about 100 of whom remain in Gaza. Local health officials say more than 33,000 people have died in the war, and the United Nations says the population is on the brink of starvation.
The situation of the military conflict is as follows.
Southern Gaza
Israel withdrew its troops from southern Gaza this month, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military still plans to invade Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, to “complete the annihilation of the Hamas battalion” and destroy its tunnel network. He said there is.
It is unclear when the operation will take place in Rafah, on the border with Egypt. President Biden is one of many world leaders who have urged Israel not to invade cities because of the potential for harm to civilians. Rafah's population has swelled to more than 1 million people as people flock there to flee fighting elsewhere and Gaza's southern border crossing has become a major route for humanitarian aid.
northern gaza
Israel launched a ground invasion into northern Gaza in late October, prompting civilians to leave. Much of the north, including Gaza City, has been destroyed by airstrikes and ground combat. In January, Israel began withdrawing its troops from northern Gaza, saying it had dismantled the Hamas military organization there.
But in March, Israeli forces launched an operation at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, citing the return of Hamas fighters. The Israeli military said it had killed about 200 fighters and captured another 500. This hospital, once the largest in Gaza, has been reduced to ruins.
Some analysts said the attack showed that Israel had allowed Hamas to return by leaving northern Gaza without a regional governance plan in place. At the same time, some civilians who fled south and tried to return via coastal roads said this week that Israeli forces opened fire on them. Their accounts could not be independently verified.
central gaza
The remaining Israeli forces in Gaza primarily guard roads that the military has built across the center of the Strip to facilitate operations. The research group Institute for the Study of War said this was consistent with Israel's plan to move towards a more targeted assault strategy rather than widespread attacks.
Israel retains the ability to carry out airstrikes anywhere in the Gaza Strip, and has carried out several airstrikes around the central city of Deir al-Balah. Earlier this month, Israeli military aircraft attacked a convoy belonging to the World Central Kitchen charity organization near the city, killing seven aid workers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country regrets the attack.
beyond the territory
Experts say the Israeli military has achieved considerable success in dismantling Hamas's military wing, the Qassam Brigades. Robert Bretcher, an expert at the International Crisis Group think tank, said tens of thousands of airstrikes and ground combat destroyed most of the battalion's strength.
Israel also killed at least one top Hamas commander and destroyed some of the tunnels where Hamas operates. However, Hamas retains significant organizational and military power, particularly in southern Gaza, where a network of tunnels acts as a shield, and Gaza's leader, Yahya Sinwar, remains at large.
“Israel has done a good job of neutralizing the stronger battalions,” Bretcher said, but added that “Hamas will remain an insurgency.”