Israel’s Attack Movement Against GAZA
GAZA – The Israeli occupation military is preparing to mobilize reserve forces on a large scale in anticipation of an expansion of the ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip. Issue amid escalating troop shortage and rising public tension over the fate of Israeli prisoners held in Gaza/ According to the Yedioth Ahronoth daily: “With the 36th Division continuing its offensive in Rafah, the Israeli army is preparing to escalate its military efforts in Gaza next week if no progress is made in negotiations on a potential deal.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to hold high-level security consultations with senior ministers and military officials on plans to expand the offensive, the daily claimed, adding that the Security Cabinet will meet on Sunday evening to make a final decision on the matter.
Hamas has proposed exchanging all Israeli prisoners for a full ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, a proposal rejected by Tel Aviv. “In recent days, several reserve officers have told their units to prepare for a sudden call-up,” the daily said. Also Read: Pakistan Vs India Nuclear War Threat Over the weekend, the Israeli occupation army issued a statement indicating that the deployment of reserve forces would be carried out “carefully and responsibly, based on objective and professional considerations.” Tensions escalated further yesterday when Netanyahu stated that expelling Hamas from Gaza was a higher priority than rescuing Israeli prisoners.
The remarks sparked anger among the families of the detainees, who have urged the government to prioritize their release even if it means ending the war. On April 21, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also angered the families by saying that freeing the detainees was “not the most important goal.”
Meanwhile, more than 9,900 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli jails, where they suffer torture, starvation and medical neglect, leading to many deaths, according to Palestinian and Israeli rights groups. As Israel threatens to expand its offensive, the military is grappling with a severe shortage of troops.
Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has warned that the army cannot carry out its mission without substantial reinforcements from reservists. Amid what he described as a “severe depletion of forces,” Zamir has called for imposing “civil sanctions on draft evaders,” referring to the widespread exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) from military service.
According to the daily, the military is expected to issue some 24,000 initial draft notices to Haredi youth by the end of June. However, only about 300 of these draft orders have been formally processed, and enforcement has been lax due to Israeli government policy. Prime Minister Netanyahu is reportedly pushing for legislation to grant a blanket exemption to Haredim, facing stiff opposition from the military and political opponents. The Israeli army has also estimated that it needs an additional 10 billion shekels ($2.7 billion) to continue its war on the besieged Gaza Strip and expand it with a large-scale ground operation, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.
The Hebrew-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said, “The renewal of the war on Gaza more than a month ago, after the ceasefire, and plans to extend it…. entail significant costs,” adding that the Israeli occupation army is already discussing the need for a substantial budget increase of around $2.6 billion. According to the report, security institutions in Israel have in recent days calculated the additional costs of extending and expanding the war, which could involve conquering around 40% of the Gaza Strip in the coming weeks to improve the security of illegal settlements near Gaza and prevent the resumption of rocket attacks on Israel.
The newspaper noted that senior government officials, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, recently discussed the need for the additional budget and were surprised by the amount requested by the army. The newspaper quoted an unnamed senior Finance Ministry official as saying, “It is unreasonable to allocate another 10 billion shekels to the bloated defense budget,” which the newspaper said could lead to an increase in taxes on citizens to cover these costs.
A senior official told the newspaper that “It is inconceivable that, beyond the nearly $31 billion that has already been allocated—including the use of $2.6 billion in reserve funds—another $2.6 billion could be added to the already-inflated defense budget.” Earlier this year, Israeli economic newspaper Calcalist reported that the Bank of Israel estimated the cost of the war in the Gaza Strip to be around 250 billion shekels ($67.57 billion) by the end of 2024, including direct security costs, huge civilian expenditures, and lost revenues.
Israel’s genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, has killed and injured more than 168,000 Palestinians, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 have disappeared.
