While the Israeli military continues to firm up plans for the capture of Gaza City, the IDF is also reportedly preparing to expand humanitarian support in other parts of Gaza, including building additional field hospitals ahead of mass civilian evacuations.
According to a Monday report in Ynet News, the military intends to establish more humanitarian zones and medical facilities to bolster international legitimacy for the planned offensive against remaining Hamas forces. Previous field hospitals in the Gaza Strip were facilitated by the IDF, many of them built and operated by the United Arab Emirates.
According to the Ynet report, the IDF is currently conducting an assessment of the requirements and feasibility of the plan, which is awaiting approval from the political echelon.
On Saturday evening, reports in Hebrew media indicated the military had resumed allowing tents and other shelter equipment into the Gaza Strip in preparation for the planned evacuation of Gaza City's civilian population. By Sunday afternoon, social media posts showed trucks loaded with tents waiting to enter the Strip.
By Sunday afternoon, social media showed trucks preparing to enter Gaza with the tents.
The entry of renewed aid comes as IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said he approved plans for the takeover of Gaza City and is expected to present them to Defense Minister Israel Katz for final approval on Tuesday.
While visiting the frontlines on Sunday, Zamir said, "Today we are approving the plan for the next phase of the war. Just as in the recent operations in Iran, Yemen, Lebanon, Judea and Samaria, and Gaza, we will continue to reshape the security reality. We will maintain the momentum of Operation 'Gideon's Chariots' while focusing on Gaza City. We will continue to strike until the decisive defeat of Hamas, with the hostages always at the forefront of our minds."
He also told IDF commanders, "In the upcoming campaign in Gaza, an attempt will be made to minimize the use of reserve forces as much as possible. The expected evacuation of the population will last a little less than two months, and we are preparing for the complexity of moving the residents; therefore, we are preparing a variety of tools to encourage them to leave the city for the humanitarian areas. After that, phases of encircling, entering, and conquering Gaza City will be carried out."
Alongside the reports of the IDF moving forward with an advanced plan for the Gaza City campaign, Saudi-affiliated news site Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Palestinian terror groups holding the remaining Israeli hostages are considering a plan to transfer the hostages into Gaza City ahead of the IDF campaign.
The move is an attempt to deter Israel from taking over the city.
Walla News reported that around 80,000 Israeli soldiers would be needed to encircle and occupy Gaza City as part of the effort to defeat the remaining Hamas forces there.
A military source told Walla, "This is a very broad plan that will exact a very heavy price from Hamas, but it also carries great risks for IDF forces."
The source also said that the IDF is already beginning to launch maneuvers in Gaza City to increase pressure on Hamas ahead of the campaign to capture the city.
Ahead of a government meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that the upcoming offensive was meant to achieve security control over the Gaza Strip, which he intends to maintain in the future.
"Our ongoing security control in the Strip is only one of our conditions for concluding the war, conditions that Hamas is refusing to accept. We insist that not only must Hamas be disarmed, but also that Israel will enforce the demilitarization of the Strip over time by continuous action against any attempt at rearmament and reorganization by any terrorist element whatsoever," he said.
Meanwhile, reports in Arabic media say that Hamas is evaluating the latest Egyptian and Qatari proposals for a hostage-ceasefire deal.
Saudi Al-Arabiya TV reported that Egypt demanded an answer within hours, and asked Hamas and representatives from other terror groups to remain in Egypt until an agreement is reached.
At a Monday press conference at the Rafah crossing last Monday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Egypt is mediating with Qatar and the U.S. and holding intensive talks to restore calm, secure a ceasefire, and launch a serious political process to end the war.
Abdelatty added that there are currently Palestinian and Qatari delegations in Egypt to continue the negotiations.
Republished with permission from All Israel News.