While the IDF’s Southern Command is preparing for the possibility that war against Hamas may be necessary to disarm the terrorist organization, Walla learned on Friday that the International Stabilization Force (ISF), the multinational force created to manage the security and governance situation in the Gaza Strip, has begun to receive military equipment to use in the disarmament efforts.
According to sources in the Southern Command, in the past 24 hours, dozens of vehicles, some of which are bulletproof, were transferred to Gaza and handed over to American forces from the ISF’s headquarters in Kiryat Gat.
The transfer of the vehicles is part of preparations being made for the ISF to take over security responsibilities in parts of the Gaza Strip.
The IDF has occupied about 70% of the Gaza Strip as it works to rid the enclave of terrorists, tunnels, and weapons. However, Hamas continues to rule in the remaining 30% of the territory.
Sources involved in the regional process said that the progress of diplomatic processes was conditional and dependent on an effective national force within Gaza disarming Hamas and taking control of the strip.
In practice, the opposite is happening.
Hamas maintains control in Gaza, refuses to disarm
Hamas continues to rule Gaza, refusing to disarm, and the Americans are rushing to advance processes over Israel's head, contrary to the position of the political echelon, which would prefer to disarm Hamas before advancing reconstruction processes.
The fear among security officials is that the Americans will create an even more complex reality in the Gaza Strip, where there will be areas supposedly free of terrorism under the responsibility of ISF, areas controlled by Hamas, and areas controlled by the IDF.
Security officials told Walla this week that "Hamas knows how to exploit loopholes and profit from the reconstruction process. It will not easily give up power."
According to IDF estimates, terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip currently hold about 27,000 weapons, including thousands of high-altitude missiles of various ranges, and a large variety of explosive devices - some of which may have been created from unexploded air force bombs and missiles.
In addition, Hamas has drones, motorized paragliders, watercraft, diving equipment, an intelligence network, a basic hierarchical command structure consisting of battalion commanders, company commanders, and platoon commanders assigned by sector, as well as a renewed tunnel-digging system.
Security officials believe that the Hamas leadership is focused on its own survival and on consolidating its governance. Therefore, it is not provoking the IDF or carrying out attacks, because it assesses that, as with the restraint the United States imposed on the IDF regarding strikes in Lebanon, a similar situation could develop in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas preparing for possibility of renewed IDF Gaza operations
Nevertheless, Hamas's leadership is preparing for the possibility that the IDF will attempt to maneuver deep into Gaza City areas that remain under Hamas's full control.
According to IDF assessments, Hamas's preparations may initially be focused on defense, but will quickly shift to offensive operations against IDF forces rather than against Israeli communities, because it understands that attacking them would cause it to lose the battle for international public opinion.
In any case, the commander of the IDF Southern Command, Maj.-Gen. Yaniv Asor is pushing to resume operations against Hamas, with an emphasis on areas where no IDF soldiers or tanks have entered since the beginning of the war.
In these areas, Hamas is stockpiling weapons and hiding senior members of the terrorist organization. Ultimately, despite the severe blows it has suffered over the past 1,000 days since the October 7 massacre, Hamas continues to govern the Gaza Strip.
