Israel defense chief unveils Hamas war plan, but long-term Gaza strategy remains elusive

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant detailed the country’s plans for defeating Hamas in a defense committee meeting on Friday, but gave no clues about how it plans to oversee the region when the fighting stops.

Speaking at a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting in Tel Aviv, Gallant laid out Israel’s strategy for defeating the terror group responsible for the Oct. 7 surprise attack that killed more than 1,300 Israelis.

He told committee members that the war will unfold in three distinct phases.

The first phase, which is currently underway, will involve a military campaign of airstrikes and later ground maneuvers “with the purpose of destroying operatives and damaging infrastructure in order to defeat and destroy Hamas,” Gallant said.

The second phase will still involve fighting, but at a reduced intensity as troops shift their focus to “eliminate pockets of resistance” that remain in the region.

Finally, Gallant said, as the war enters its third phase, Israel will work to create a “new security regime” in Gaza.

Notably, this final phase will involve “the removal of Israel’s responsibility for day-to-day life in the Gaza Strip,” which will usher in “a new security reality for the citizens of Israel” and those living in close proximity to Gaza.

Absent from his remarks was any indication of what Israel washing its hands of any responsibility for Gaza and its 2.2 million residents will mean for the territory, which is wholly dependent on Israel for essential services like water and electricity.

Israel has already announced plans to establish a broad demilitarized zone around the Gaza Strip after it completes its impending ground invasion.

The expected DMZ would extend the length of the 40-mile fence currently encircling the Strip while enhancing its extensive defensive capabilities, according to CNN’s Nic Robertson, who spoke with Israeli ministers about the plan.

“That border fence area, that has an electronic border fence that has sensors on it, that has cameras on it, the wall behind it that drops down deep into the ground to protect against tunnels, and a small buffer zone behind that. That’s going to become much, much wider,” Robertson reported Thursday.

Additional reporting by Alex Oliveira