How important is Gaza City to Hamas?
Israel is once again targeting Gaza City in operations in Gaza. For many observers of the war, this might seem like a surprise. Some will wonder, wasn't Gaza City taken from Hamas at the beginning of the war? Others may wonder why it wasn't taken in the past?
These are good questions. Why is the capital of Gaza still in the hands of Hamas? Why has Israel spent 22 months chipping away at the periphery, losing hundreds of soldiers, while 50 hostages remain in Gaza, and Hamas apparently has the privilege of controlling Gaza City and other parts of Gaza throughout the war?
Hamas likely expected Israel to take Gaza City at the beginning of the war. Instead, what happened was that the IDF cut off Gaza City and northern Gaza from central Gaza in the first days of the ground offensive in late October 2023. Then, the IDF spent a month pushing into neighborhoods and suburbs of Gaza City, but never taking the city itself and holding it. Many of these areas were cleared quickly, and then the tanks and infantry left. This was the raiding strategy and tactic that Israel's commanders apparently believed would work early in the war.
By mid-November, reports from the IDF claimed that they had broken through ten of the 24 battalions of Hamas in Gaza. The IDF claimed at the time that it had basically shattered Hamas in northern Gaza and dismantled the Hamas battalions there. However, it appears that the Hamas units were not destroyed. There was a brigade in Gaza City and another brigade in northern Gaza. By November 2024, a year after the battalions were supposedly defeated, the IDF had to enter Jabaliya in Gaza for the third time and clear it. Thousands of Hamas members remain, and 70,000 people had to be evacuated in November and December 2024.
During the new operation, Gideon's Chariots launched in May 2025, the IDF once again vowed to retake Gaza. Politicians said that whole areas would be destroyed in this new operation. However, once again, Hamas was left in control of Gaza City as the IDF basically retook areas in Gaza in June and July 2025 that it had taken in 2023 and 2024.
What is happening in Gaza now? Reports in Israeli media indicate that tanks have entered the outskirts of Gaza City. These reports speak of operations in the Sabra neighborhood in the southern part of the city. There have also been operations in the Zeitoun area between Gaza City and the Netzarim Corridor. The IDF had already taken this area at least four times since the war began.
There have been limited operations in Sabra as well. Israel's political echelon believes that if Hamas is pushed out of Gaza City, then Hamas might finally collapse. However, Hamas has been pushed out of other key areas such as Rafah and Khan Yunis, and it has not collapsed. Evidence shows it has lost almost all of its company, battalion, and brigade commanders, as well as most of its leadership in Gaza.
However, it continues to replace its fighters, and it has fought on. Hamas mostly retreats and hides in areas where the IDF operates. In Beit Hanoun, for instance, it hid out for 20 months of war near the Israeli border before finally being defeated. It was only defeated in Beit Hanoun in July 2025 because every house there was demolished.
Gaza City symbollically important to Hamas
Some believe that Gaza City is of great importance to Hamas. It is symbolically important, to be sure. Militarily, it is less clear. Hamas has strongholds in the Central Camps, areas where its activists have historically grown up. Hamas is more popular among Gazans who are descendants of Arabs who fled Israel in 1948 and ended up in Gaza. The older clans of Gaza are less supportive. These older Gazans tend to live in parts of Gaza City. Will entering their areas lead Hamas to collapse?
Gaza City presents a challenge. In 2024, it was largely cut off from central Gaza because the IDF held the Netzarim corridor. The IDF left that area in January 2025 and never retook it fully. How many people are in Gaza City today? Several hundred thousand? Whatever the number, fighting among them will be complex. The IDF has always asked people to leave before it enters an area. This gives Hamas time to leave as well. Will Hamas simply leave Gaza City and wait out this offensive as it has in the past?
Solve the daily Crossword
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
3 minutes ago
- USA Today
As Netanyahu expands Gaza war, some reservists grow more disillusioned
JERUSALEM, Aug 19 (Reuters) - As Israel seeks to expand its offensive in Gaza, a measure of how the country's mood has changed in the nearly two-year-old conflict is the discontent evident among some reservists being called up to serve once again. Shortly after the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israelis dropped everything -- honeymoons, studies and new lives abroad -- to rush home and fight. Now, some voice disillusionment with political leaders sending them back into battle, as the military prepares to take control of Gaza City, the enclave's biggest urban centre. According to a study conducted by Agam Labs at the Hebrew University which measured sentiment about the new campaign among more than 300 people serving in the current war, 25.7% of reservists said their motivation had decreased significantly compared with the start of the campaign. Another 10% said their motivation slightly decreased. Asked to describe their feelings about the campaign, the biggest group -- 47% -- of responders expressed negative emotions towards the government and its handling of the war and hostage negotiations. In March, before the latest offensive was announced, the Israeli news outlet Ynet reported that the amount of reservists reporting for duty was 30 percent below the number requested by military commanders. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy Hamas after it attacked Israel in Oct. 7, 2023 in the bloodiest single day for Jews since the Holocaust, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. But the war has dragged on, with Hamas still putting up a fight and Israelis condemning their prime minister for failing to reach a deal with the militant group to win the release of hostages despite many mediation efforts. 'THIS WAR IS ENTIRELY POLITICAL' Reservists were among thousands of Israelis who took part in a nationwide strike on Sunday, one of the biggest protests in support of families of hostages, calling on Netanyahu to reach an agreement with Hamas to end the war and release the remaining captives. One of those angry protesters was Roni Zehavi, a reservist pilot who stopped serving out of principle after more than 200 days of service when the last ceasefire fell through. He said that when reservists were enlisted, they did everything required without saying a word. But then questions such as "where is this going?" started to pop up, he recalled. Reservists accused the government - the most far-right administration in Israel's history -- of perpetuating the war for political reasons. "This war is entirely political, it has no goal except to keep Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister," he told Reuters. "He is willing to do everything necessary, to sacrifice the hostages, fallen soldiers, dead citizens - to do what he needs so that he and his wife will stay in power. It's the tragedy of the state of Israel and it's the reality". Asked for comment about the disenchantment voiced by some reservists, the Israeli military said it sees great importance in the reserve service and each case of absence is examined. "In this challenging security reality, the contribution of the reservists is essential to the success of missions and to maintaining the security of the country," it said. The prime minister's office was not immediately available for comment. Netanyahu has so far resisted calls to establish a state inquiry - in which he could be implicated - into the security failures of the October 7 attack. He has said such an investigation should not be launched as long as the war is still under way. Some of his far-right coalition partners have threatened to bring down the government should the war end without meeting all its stated goals. When Israel called up 360,000 reservists after the October 7 attack, the largest such compulsory mobilisation since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, it received an enthusiastic response. The mood among some reservists appears different now. 'I will not be part of a system that knows that it will kill the hostages. I'm just not prepared to take that. And I really fear that, to the point where it keeps me up at night," one combat medic told Reuters. He asked not to be identified as he was not authorized to speak. According to Israel's Channel 12, the military plans to call up 250,000 reservists for the Gaza City offensive. Israel has lost 898 soldiers and thousands have been wounded in the Gaza war, the country's longest conflict since the 1948 war that accompanied its creation. Its military response to the Hamas attack has killed over 61,000 people in Gaza, including many children, according to Gaza health authorities. 'LACK OF VISION' Military service is mandatory in Israel, a small nation of fewer than 10 million people, but it relies heavily on reservists in times of crisis. Reserve duty is technically mandatory, though penalties for evasion often depend on the willingness of the direct commander to enforce punishment. Reuters interviewed 10 Israeli reservists for this story. Like many other reservists, special forces Sergeant Major A. Kalker concluded that Israel's military and political leadership has failed to formulate a sound day-after plan for the war. "There's a lack of vision, both in the political and the senior military leadership, a real lack of vision," he said, but added that shouldn't amount to refusing to serve. "Bibi (Netanyahu) is the king of not making decisions … like treading water." Reservist Brigadier General Roi Alkabetz told Reuters that the military and Israel's Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir had transitioned to using the reservists in a "measured way", because Zamir understood the hardship for reservists and had put much of the hard work on soldiers in mandatory service. "He's doing it in a logical way," Alkabetz said. "The reservists will come." (Writing by Michael Georgy, Editing by William Maclean)
NBC News
4 minutes ago
- NBC News
Israel approves plan for Gaza City takeover and call-up of 60,000 reservists
Israel has approved a plan for the takeover of Gaza City that includes calling up 60,000 reservists for its expanded military operation in the besieged Palestinian enclave. The U.S. ally appeared to be pushing ahead with a new phase of its war despite international opposition — and in the face of a renewed push for a ceasefire. Defense Minister Israel Katz has authorized the plans for the major new operation, a spokesperson for the ministry confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday. It will also see an additional 20,000 reservists have their service extended, the Israeli military said. The assault is expected to force thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza to the south of the strip, which is suffering an intensifying hunger crisis under Israel's military offensive and aid restrictions. Scores of people have been killed by starvation in recent weeks, including dozens of children, according to the Palestinian health ministry in the enclave. Katz, who replaced Yoav Gallant as defense minister last year, was on Tuesday holding a discussion to approve "strike plans in Gaza" with Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior defense officials, the defense ministry had said. The announcement of the expanded military operation comes after Israel appeared to shrug off announcements that Hamas had agreed to the latest proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire deal in Gaza that would free hostages who remain held in the enclave. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told NBC News on Tuesday that the deal was based on a proposal by President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a 60-day ceasefire, during which some of the remaining 50 hostages, both alive and dead, would be released with plans to negotiate a lasting ceasefire and the return of the rest. 'The ball is now in Israel's court,' he said, adding: 'We would like a positive response from them as soon as possible in order to deal with the disastrous situation in Gaza, especially the starvation and the killing of civilians.' Asked about the development, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office referred NBC News to a statement the Israeli leader made Monday suggesting he was determined to push ahead with the plan to assume full control of Gaza City and noting that Hamas appeared to be 'under immense pressure.' Asked if they could confirm reports that Israel would provide a response to international mediators on the proposal by Friday, the spokesperson said 'no' and did not provide further clarification. New satellite imagery suggests that a number of people have already begun to flee the area of Gaza City in recent days ahead of Israel's advance, with the country's plan to push civilians living in the area into the enclave's south condemned by rights groups. Imagery captured on August 16 shows sites just south of Gaza City are seemingly barren, having been packed with what appear to be tent camps just days before, on August 9. Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict. Since then, more than 62,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including thousands of children, according to the Palestinian health ministry in the enclave, with much of the territory destroyed.
Wall Street Journal
4 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Israel to Call Up 60,000 Reservists for Gaza City Invasion
TEL AVIV—The Israeli military will begin calling up around 60,000 reservists for duty as it proceeds with plans to take over Gaza City, a Hamas stronghold where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are believed to be sheltering, an Israeli military official said Wednesday. The decision comes as an overwhelming majority of Israelis want the government to strike a deal to end the war in exchange for the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Israel's largely reservist army is also exhausted after nearly two years of fighting.
