Almost four months into the war that was imposed on Israel, and three months of ground maneuvers in the Gaza Strip, and yet, it is Israel that is waiting for Yahya Sinwar's decision on whether he is interested in moving forward with the abductees deal, which would, among other things, provide him with a temporary ceasefire, the release of prisoners and expanded humanitarian aid, to allow him to breathe.
Fighters of the 99th Division in Gaza, photo: IDF spokesman
In the meantime, Israel is completing the ground operation in Khan Yunis, and Defense Minister Yoav Galant said last week that "we will also reach Rafah and eliminate anyone there who is a terrorist who is trying to harm us", but as is known, the decision to operate in Rafah is at the doorstep of the political echelon.
Rafih asked
The complexity of entering Rafah is great - both because 1.4 million Palestinian citizens have found refuge there, and thousands of Hamas terrorists are hiding among them, and because the Egyptians, at least outwardly, express opposition to Israeli action there.
Gazans evacuate towards Rafah.
1.4 million people found refuge there, photo: Reuters
One way or another, the coming week will be very dramatic in terms of the contacts for the hostage deal, and it is very possible that the IDF will be required to stop fighting. The army supports the cessation of hostilities for a limited period of time, even if long, in favor of the return of the abductees, since so far it has been proven that Israel is unable to release the abductees Through military action (with the exception of the release of Uri Magidish), and the release of the abductees is one of the two main goals of the fighting. At the same time, the army demands that the fighting be resumed at the end of the ceasefire.
The question of the north
If a hostage deal is indeed decided, the IDF is expected to use the lull to refresh the forces after four months of fighting, to return the equipment to serviceability and to prepare for a possible war in the north in the summer.
Reservist exercises in the north, photo: IDF spokesman
As for the northern border, the IDF will be required to decide whether to continue attacking Lebanon if it detects a threat, even if Hezbollah decides to lay down the fire as it did last time. Israel's interest is to try and disconnect between the arenas, and therefore there are those in the IDF who believe that if a threat is detected, the IDF "We need to act even if Hezbollah does not fire.
In the meantime, even during the last weekend there was no peace when the IDF attacked a military headquarters where Hezbollah terrorists were operating, and a military post from which launches were carried out into the country. These are two observation posts in the areas of Marvin and Ita al-Sha'ab, alongside a military headquarters in the Yaron area, where terrorists were operating Hezbollah.
Another threat that made headlines over the weekend is the Houthi threat, when on Friday air defense fighters from the Arrow formation intercepted a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen towards Israel.
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