The new stage of fighting that Israel is currently entering is not without risks. By the same token, the redeployment of the forces and their new operating format do not come as a surprise. The War Cabinet approved them even before the ground campaign began. Naturally, this was not communicated to the public.
To start from the end, there is no certainty that the new form of fighting will achieve the objectives defined by the cabinet – denying Hamas military and governmental capabilities and returning the hostages. However, the army does think that the static and massive presence in the field is beneficial. In addition, we must prepare for war in the north and let the home front breathe.
Terrorists film themselves firing at an IDF force - located in real time and eliminated by fighters of the 4th Brigade's combat team // IDF Spokesperson
Therefore, the IDF and the political echelon are taking a certain risk here, evacuating territories, but are committed to chopping off Hamas' head wherever it rises. It is possible that in the territory that is abandoned, the Khamsniks will regain their grip and, like a rat digging burrows in the ground, they will emerge from the mounds to tail our forces, or shoot at our settlements. If the new route turns out to be wrong in time, it can always be corrected on the fly. In any case, we, the people of Israel, and especially the residents of the envelope, must internalize that the reality we have known for the past 20 years will no longer exist. On the one hand, the number of launches into Israel has already decreased significantly. The reality to which we have become accustomed over the past decade, of sirens all over the country whenever a Muhammad quarrels with his wife, is gradually disappearing from our lives.
The operation will take years
On the strategic level, if the lawn-mowing operation in Gaza is carried out properly, Iran will no longer be able to use Hamas as an arm to strangle Israel. This is a very important development. Finally, it seems that infiltrations into the surrounding communities will no longer be possible. At a terrible price, the IDF will no longer abandon the border. But even perfect it won't be. As the army candidly says, a farmer who leaves in two years to work in the fields of the village of Gaza is liable to be attacked by an RPG or an anti-tank missile. There is no guarantee that no mortar will ever fly to Nir Oz or Bari. Sderot may also get hijacked here and there, as happened last night. Of course, all efforts will be made to preempt any such incident in advance, and it is clear that after the fact it will be dealt with with the utmost severity. But probably won't be one hundred percent.
"We pledge to chop off Hamas' head wherever it rises." IDF forces in the Gaza Strip, photo: IDF Spokesperson
Just as in 2002 Operation Defensive Shield in Judea and Samaria was the opening blow that followed, terrorism was gradually curtailed over years, so phase three of the war is supposed to be the one that systematically cleans Gaza of its terror silos. It's not zbang and we're done. In fact, as the war passes, it becomes apparent how much Gaza, above and below the ground, is one big barrel of explosives, and not as a metaphor. A tunnel is discovered in each apartment. Each wall hides a shaft. This is what our soldiers find.
Such a challenge is not launched in six days or six months, but perhaps in six years – the amount of time it would have taken to stop suicide bombings at the turn of the millennium – and even then on condition that we continue to be determined as iron. This means that the residents of the envelope will live a calmer life than they did until the day of the atrocities. But, like Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem, it will not be pastoral. This is probably the maximum that can be achieved with military tools in the foreseeable future. This is also the nature of life in the Land of Israel. It is bought, as our sages said, in agony.
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