On GPS: Two views on Israel's expansion of its Gaza war
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Time Magazine
14 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
Israel Calls Up 60,000 Reservists Amid Calls to End Gaza War
Israel has called up 60,000 reservists to report for duty, the military said Wednesday. Another 20,000 reservists will have their service extended under what officials call the next phase of Operation Gideon's Chariots, the codename given to Israel's plan to expand its military offensive in the Gaza Strip. World leaders have sharply criticized the new war plan, with Germany halting all of its arms sales to Israel. Large-scale protests have taken place in Israel, calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war and a deal to facilitate the release of the remaining hostages held in the territory. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which organized the "Israel on Hold' protests, said that over a million people took part in the demonstrations across the country on Sunday. Per the organization, almost 500,000 protesters gathered in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square. Read More: Germany Suspends Gaza-Linked Arms Sales to Israel Over Netanyahu's Plan to Occupy the Strip The Israel-Hamas war started after Hamas launched a terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. Of the estimated 250 hostages, 140 have been released during negotiations, eight have been rescued, and the bodies of 57 who died in captivity or during rescue attempts have been recovered. It's thought that 20 living hostages are still being held by Hamas and other militants. Over 62,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. In the absence of independent monitoring on the ground, the ministry is the primary source for casualty data relied upon by humanitarian groups, journalists, and international bodies. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants and cannot be independently verified by TIME. In a military briefing shared with TIME on Wednesday, an IDF (Israel Defense Forces) official said the newly-called reserves are set to be drafted in September and the next phase of the operation into Gaza City will be presented to the 'political echelon' for approval. 'In the coming weeks, we'll see the IDF begin a gradual operation in and around Gaza City,' said a military official. Israel's security cabinet approved new plans, put forward by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to expand military operations in Gaza on Aug. 8. The expansion of Operation Gideon's Chariots, the renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza which began in May, could come to fruition with the occupation of the entire territory. The IDF has already advanced some military operations surrounding Gaza City. 'The civilian population in the combat zone has been warned and requested to move south for their safety and to minimize the likelihood of harm to uninvolved individuals,' said IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee. Read More: Mother of Israeli Hostage Says Occupation of Gaza Would be 'Death Sentence' for Her Son and Others Israel's action regarding the calling of reserves comes as international groups voice concerns over the deteriorating humanitarian conditions and malnutrition crisis in Gaza. The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that an expansion in military operations could risk an 'already catastrophic' situation. 'With more than 80% of Gaza already impacted by evacuation orders, it is unimaginable that civilians could be compelled to move to an even smaller area… After months of relentless hostilities and repeated displacement, the people in Gaza are utterly exhausted,' said the ICRC in a statement on Wednesday. The United Nations maintains that any plans to expand operations in Gaza 'will have a horrific humanitarian impact on people already exhausted, malnourished, bereaved, displaced, and deprived of basics needed for survival.' The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the Holy Family parish in Gaza, said it is 'closely monitoring the rapidly evolving situation in Gaza City, particularly in light of recent decisions and the ongoing mobilization towards an imminent invasion.' In a statement shared with TIME, a spokesperson for the patriarchate said members of the Gaza church have reported that 'the sound and impact of bombardments are drawing dangerously close to the parish compound itself.' Read More: Israel Approves West Bank Settlement Project That Advocacy Groups Say 'Guarantees More Bloodshed' Meanwhile, advocacy groups have also spoken out to condemn Israel's new West Bank settlement plans, which received final approval on Wednesday. Pushed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the project, which had been on hold for decades due to global concerns, would isolate the territory by cutting off the West Bank from East Jerusalem. Israeli advocacy group Peace Now has warned that the 'government's annexation moves' are 'guaranteeing many more years of bloodshed.' Smotrich, alongside fellow far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, was sanctioned by the U.K. and allies in May. He was accused of 'inciting extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
IDF's military gains in Gaza limited, long-term battle focuses on GHF, political control
To have a chance of regaining legitimacy, at least from traditional Israeli allies like Germany, the IDF and the government need to neutralize food insecurity as an issue in dispute. It was still unclear by press time whether a temporary, 60-day ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in exchange for an estimated 10 live hostages, the bodies of another 18 deceased hostages, and the release of Palestinian security prisoners, was underway. Whether that deal or something along those lines is cut in the near future remains to be seen. Simultaneously, the hostages are the key to the agreement in terms of war goals and the country's social values. The most critical strategic, long-term points bear on what will happen regarding the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the IDF, and Israel's image. This is because the political-military battles over Gaza are what remain to be achieved. In terms of defeating Hamas militarily, there is little left to be done. While theoretically, Hamas still has thousands, if not more, fighting terrorists, they have virtually all gone into hiding since the summer of 2024. All of the pre-war Hamas high command officials and four of the five brigade commanders are dead. Many of its deputies are as well, as are other mid-level and low-level officers. When some Israeli officials mention expelling Hamas's leadership, they are referring mainly to Izz al-Din Haddad, originally the brigade commander for Gaza City, but now Hamas's top military chief, for lack of anyone else. He is probably the only one left on the list who is worth banishing. Most of the remaining terrorists are new, less-trained recruits. In that sense, no major battles were recorded in May and June when the IDF took over 75% of Gaza. One of the most 'serious' battles was between massive IDF forces and around 30 Hamas terrorists fighting guerrilla warfare against them in Beit Hanun. Conquering Gaza City, if that does happen, is not expected to bring about too many significant battles either; large droves of fleeing civilians, with Hamas forces retreating, camouflaged, within that mêlée, is the likely scenario. Alternatively, regarding the political sphere, going back nearly 20 months, the government has declined any of the international offers for how to run a post-war Gaza. This means that the only real achievement to date in that area is the GHF. It has cut Hamas off from having control over food in the Rafah, portions of Khan Yunis, and the central Gaza regions. Largest achievement to date is American-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation This is far from a Gaza-wide achievement. Around one million Palestinians are currently in Gaza City in the northern section of the enclave alone, receiving food through traditional UN and international aid channels, which have elements of Hamas control or influence built into the process. Also, some of the Gazans in central Gaza and the al-Mawasi coastal region, where Hamas is involved or retains influence, are continuing to get food through these sources. In terms of actual numbers, the GHF declined to answer repeated questions to estimate how many Gazans it has been feeding since it opened operations in late May. However, the GHF does provide absolute numbers of meals, with those numbers reaching up to around 125 million meals over seven weeks, with an average of around 1.5 million meals per day. If Gazans fed by the GHF are eating three meals every day, then this means it is probably feeding around 500,000 Gazans, or around one quarter of Gaza's two million-plus population. Alternatively, if Gazans are conserving and eating around two meals per day, the number of Gazans being fed by the GHF could be larger, possibly as high as 750,000. However, this seems unlikely given the geographic spread of Gazans' current locations and the locations of the three operating GHF centers. There used to be a fourth GHF center, but that one has been closed, and the aid organization did not respond to queries about when it would be reopened, if at all. Another possibility is that the number is lower than 500,00. This would be if between 250,000 and 300,000 Gazans or so are coming to GHF distribution centers for more than they need every week in order to store or sell food. The GHF does not keep a record of most of those who come to its centers, so there is no exact way to know how many individuals are double-dipping, among other options. With all of these qualifications and all of the problems Palestinian civilians are having, such as, on some occasions (though Israeli critics do exaggerate the numbers), aid seekers being mistakenly killed by IDF soldiers on their way to the GHF sites, the GHF experiment has shown that Hamas's political control can be rolled back. A significant volume of Gazans have spent portions of time since May out of Hamas's control, or, at least, much less so. This is something that can be built on as a long-term strategic goal for reducing Hamas's political control over Gaza. How the GHF will continue operating during a ceasefire period if IDF troops withdraw from most of Gaza is a mystery. Neither the Defense Ministry, the IDF, nor the GHF sources can relay how the GHF sites would be protected from Hamas if a temporary ceasefire were implemented. This would be a crucial issue to tackle, whether it would mean allowing Israeli soldiers to remain near the sites, or letting some international or non-Hamas Palestinian force guard the sites instead. With reference to the IDF's and Israel's international image, there is a need to repair the damage done throughout the war, and especially in recent months, due to food insecurity issues in Gaza. At minimum, for continued raids in Gaza, should Hamas try to reconstitute its rocket or other broader security threats, Israel must retain America's support and preferably also some global backing. In the long run, the country will face trouble in the political, military, and economic arenas if Europe, Australia, Canada, and other traditional allies, including Germany, which had stuck with Israel on weapons issues for nearly all of the war, keep their weapons embargoes on it. Putting aside some of the claims against Israel regarding food security that were manufactured or exaggerated, the fact is that the IDF and the government tossed their limits on the UN and international aid groups out the window a few weeks ago because the food insecurity situation had reached a dangerous level. It is essential to ensure that the IDF and Israel do not make the same strategic mistake again, however paradoxical it feels to be allowing the world to provide food to Hamas. Israel can move to broaden the GHF and other similar initiatives to ensure the food process becomes increasingly cut off from Hamas. It should find a new party to run Gaza, but the period from March to May during which new food provisions were cut off entirely has been exposed as a stark failure. To have a chance of regaining legitimacy, at least from traditional Israeli allies like Germany, the IDF and the government need to neutralize food insecurity as an issue in dispute, and get the focus back on Hamas's terror tactics and its holding onto hostages. Only these achievements will give Israel a real chance to prevent Hamas from eventually returning to control Gaza.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
US congressmen meet Syria's leader al-Sharaa, highlighting new ties between two countries
At the same time, there are concerns in Israel about Syria's treatment of the Druze in southern Syria and also questions about Syria-Israel ties. A group of US members of Congress met with Syrian transitional president Ahmed al-Sharaa on Tuesday. This marks one of several important meetings the new Syrian president has had with US officials. It matters because with each round of meetings, he is becoming more acquainted with the US members of Congress and also how the US House of Representatives and Senate work. It is at least the third round of meetings the Syrian president has held with members of the US Congress. The current delegation included US Republican Senators Joni Ernst and Markwayne Mullin, as well as members of the US House of Representatives, Missouri Republican Jason Smith, and California Democrat Jimmy Panetta, the Hill reported. This comes after the Syrian leadership also met with Arizona Republican House Representative Abraham Hamadeh. At the time, in mid-August, Hamadeh's office noted that 'in an unprecedented trip from Jerusalem to Damascus, [Hamadeh] met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani to discuss the congressman's continuing efforts to bring Americans home, advance Peace Through Strength, and advocate for a Syria that looks towards the future and not the past.' The office of Hamadeh further noted that 'this historic step marks the first time an American official has shuttled between Jerusalem and Damascus in decades. As an emissary of the Peace Through Strength agenda, congressman Hamadeh, a former US Army Reserve Intelligence Officer, was in Syria for six hours to meet with President al-Sharaa to discuss the return of Kayla Mueller's body to her family in Arizona, the need to establish a secure humanitarian corridor for the safe delivery of medical and humanitarian aid to Suwayda, and the need for Syria to attain normalization with Israel and join the Abraham Accords.' New meeting builds on previous meetings The new meeting builds on that meeting. It also comes after an important meeting in April. At the time, al-Sharaa met with Florida Republican Representative Cory Mills and Indiana Republican Representative Marlin Stutzman. Mills serves on the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees. The meetings illustrate how the new Syrian president is reaching out to the US Congress. Laura Kellly wrote at The Hill that 'the lawmakers met with al-Sharaa and other senior officials in the administration, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani and Minister of Interior Anas Khattab.' She added that 'Trump has moved to significantly ease sanctions on Syria in the wake of the ousting of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December. But Congress is split over whether to permanently repeal the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, a comprehensive sanctions regime against Syria that was meant to isolate and bankrupt Assad. Trump only has a six-month waiver to suspend those sanctions.' These are key leadership engagements for the US members of Congress. It illustrates how the US is reaching out to the new Syrian government. At the same time, there are concerns in Israel about Syria's treatment of the Druze in southern Syria and also questions about Syria-Israel ties. The key point is that the US is willing to reach out to Syria and normalize ties with the new government.
