Iran’s attacks on Israel have shifted focus away from the war in Gaza, but Israel’s military campaign remains in Gaza aimed at eliminating Hamas, the armed group that controlled the area before the fighting began.
Israeli forces launched an attack in Gaza on October 7, led by Hamas in an attack that Israeli authorities said killed about 1,200 people. Israel says its goal is to defeat Hamas and free the hostages taken that day, about 100 of whom remain in Gaza.Local health authorities say the war has killed more than 33,000 people and the United Nations says the country’s population on the verge of famine.
Here are the scenarios for military conflicts:
southern gaza
Israel Withdraw troops This month came from southern Gaza, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military still planned to invade Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah to “totally eliminate Hamas’s battalions” and destroy its network of tunnels.
The timing of any action in Rafah, which borders Egypt, was unclear. President Biden is one of many world leaders urging Israel not to invade the city because of the harm it could cause to civilians. Rafah, which has a population of more than one million, is where people have flocked to escape fighting elsewhere, while the southern Gaza crossing is the main channel for humanitarian aid.
northern gaza
Israel began a ground invasion of northern Gaza in late October, urging civilians to leave. Much of the north, including Gaza City, has been destroyed by airstrikes and ground fighting.Israel begins pull its force Armed forces from northern Gaza in January said they had dismantled Hamas military structures there.
However, in March this year, Israeli forces conducted an operation at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where Hamas militants were reported to have returned. The Israeli army said it had killed about 200 militants and captured more than 500 people.This hospital was once the largest hospital in Gaza left in ruins.
Some analysts said the attack showed Israel was leaving northern Gaza without a plan to govern the area, opening up the possibility of a Hamas resurgence.At the same time, some civilians who fled south trying to return This week, Israeli troops opened fire on them. Their testimony could not be independently verified.
Central Gaza
The Israeli troops remaining in Gaza mainly guard a road built by the military in the center of the Strip to facilitate its movement. Research group the Institute for War Research said this was consistent with Israel’s plans to shift to more targeted attacks rather than a broader attack strategy.
Israel retains the ability to launch airstrikes anywhere in Gaza and has conducted multiple airstrikes around the central city of Deir al-Balah.This month, Israeli planes struck a convoy of the charity World Central Kitchen near the city, causing casualties seven aid workers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel regretted the attack.
Across the whole territory
Experts say the Israeli military has had considerable success in dismantling the Hamas military organization. Qassam Brigade. It has destroyed much of the battalion’s strength through tens of thousands of air strikes and ground battles, said Robert Bletcher, an expert at the International Crisis Group think tank.
Israel also kills at least one Hamas member supreme commander and there are destroyed some tunnels where the group operates. But Hamas retains significant organizational and military capabilities, particularly in southern Gaza, where its network of tunnels serves as a shield and where its leaders, Yahya Sinwaris still at large.
“Israel has done a good job of destroying those more capable forces,” Blecher said, but added: “Hamas will continue to be an insurgent force.”
