New Israeli army chief set to present plans to resume fighting in Gaza, retake key areas

Eyal Zamir visits the Western Wall on 5 February 2025, hours after becoming the IDF’s new chief

Yaniv Kubovich reports in Haaretz on 6 March 2025:

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir is set to hold a situational assessment on Thursday evening, during which he’s expected to present plans for the renewal of widespread fighting in Gaza.

Defense officials say that Zamir’s plan would necessitate several divisions that would retake different areas across Gaza, including areas that the Israeli army left during the first stage of the cease-fire agreement.

Sources with knowledge of the plan’s details have cast doubt over the IDF’s ability to draft the amount of reserve soldiers needed to implement such a plan over a sustained period of time.

Several defense officials who spoke with Haaretz say that the army is having difficulties filling the ranks of the reserve divisions, and many reservists have already said they would have difficulties enlisting for several months once again.  Other officials said that in some reserve brigades, only 50 percent of those summoned for duty have showed up, forcing those brigades to enlist reservists from other units within the army.

Additionally, sources said that many officers in the IDF reserves have made it clear that they plan to end their service and not continue volunteering for combat operations in Gaza, citing their belief that the return to fighting is based on political considerations, all while endangering the lives of the hostages held in Gaza – which was the main motivating factor to enlist since October 7.

In addition, commanders in the reserves say that the burnout of reservists and the condition of the equipment will make it hard for some brigades and units to enter combat with the same capabilities as they did at the start of the war.

Some in the army also are skeptical of statements by political leaders that the IDF will return to fighting at an intensity that Hamas has never seen before.  Sources familiar with the details say that the IDF could enter into combat in Gaza again, but the expectation that it would operate differently than it has until now is overblown. The manner of fighting will be such that allows the army to be ready for potential regional developments, specifically Iran, should a military confrontation develop in the coming months.

Prior to starting his tenure as IDF chief on Wednesday, Zamir has asked for time to present a plan to return to fighting, though he will now be tasked with doing so within days. The government is demanding that Zamir present plans for taking control of parts of Gaza and evacuating the population to humanitarian zones.

At this point, the government’s directive to the army is meant to prepare for a situation in which the IDF is tasked with operational control of parts of Gaza, and therefore the army must prepare to administer civilian life for an extended period.

However, it’s unclear at this time if the army will be tasked with retaking parts of Gaza if fighting resumes. Israel may return to fighting gradually, which would allow for a return to the negotiating table over the release of additional hostages.

The government has tasked the army with, among other things, presenting plans to destroy large urban areas in Gaza and rebuilding them in a way that serves Israel’s security needs. The mediator countries – Egypt, Qatar and Jordan – have said they will not take part in rebuilding Gaza unless the Palestinian Authority has a part in it.

In that case, Israel will have to finance substantial amounts of the rebuilding because, according to international law, the IDF’s operational control of Gaza and the fact that the IDF will become the sovereign entity in the area obligates Israel to pay for all of the things required by law to provide the basic needs of daily life for the population under its responsibility.

An estimated 30,000-50,000 Gazans have left the Strip over the past months. In some cases, people are paying Gazans leaving for Egypt for medical treatment to have their families act as escorts and getting them out that way.

Since U.S. President Donald Trump announced his plan to transfer the population out of Gaza, the number of people leaving has gone down. Intelligence officials attribute this to a patriotism effect coupled with pressure from Hamas not to permit whole families to leave, as a way of pressuring people to stay.

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