Guno צְבִי
We fight, We win, Am Yisrael Chai
To ensure Hamas never rules again, Israel aims to separate the terror regime from Gaza's population, Israeli observers tell JNS.
An initial pillar of the approach involves fundamentally altering the flow of humanitarian assistance to bypass Hamas.
Hamas has been systematically stealing the aid and using it to maintain its political regime, exploiting resources meant for civilians, while feeding and fueling its terror operatives.
Diverting the aid away from Hamas is only the first step, according to Brig. Gen. (res.) Hanan Gefen, former commander of signals intelligence Unit 8200 in the Israel Defense Forces’ Intelligence Directorate.
Gefen told JNS that a new approach had been under consideration in Israel for months. He explained that while Hamas anticipates a ceasefire that would allow it to regroup, Israel envisions a drastically different future for Gaza.
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“Israel sees a completely different picture. Israel does not see Hamas in power. Hamas still doesn’t understand what this means from Israel’s perspective. It means something very similar to the situation in southern Lebanon, where Hamas will not be able to carry out any action without an Israeli response,” said Gefen.
To help achieve this, Israel is focusing on the separation of Hamas from the Gazan populace, beginning with aid, and moving on to the entire economic situation, which Hamas will not be allowed to be a part of, said Gefen.
“The Israeli government, together with regional partners headed by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the United States, want to cause all of these issues—the construction, and humanitarian aid, and medical aid, and then continuous fuel and water assistance, to be carried out using different mechanisms—away from Hamas. And importantly, to do this for years. This is not a three to four-month operation,” he added.
This vision also includes the possibility of facilitating the departure of Gazans who wish to leave, said Gefen, though he expressed doubt that it would happen at the scale envisioned by US President Donald Trump.
“One of the things Israel is doing, and will increasingly do, is to open its borders via Ramon Airport. Another way is to enable Gazans to leave. Those who want to leave can leave. This is part of the pressure [on Hamas],” he stated.
A key component of this revised approach involves utilizing international private companies to distribute aid. Gefen described a process where Israel would securely deliver aid to a certain point, from which a civilian company, equipped for self-defense, would manage distribution to local Gazans.
