With nine and a half months of fighting in the Gaza Strip, the IDF is refining its instructions and objectives coming from the office of Major General Yaron Finkelman, commander of the Southern Command.
According to findings from Division 162 along the Philadelphi Corridor, specifically in identifying and destroying tunnels underneath the route, the IDF is dismantling Hamas's smuggling arm. It has come to light that Hamas is attempting to smuggle money into Gaza to fund governance activities and pay salaries to its operatives.
The IDF's current goals:
Dismantling Hamas's capabilities and infrastructure
The primary concern in the Southern Command is that Hamas will restore its military capabilities through the smuggling of weapons, ammunition, dual-use components, and materials and the reconstruction or concealment of sites for producing rockets, mortar shells, and explosive devices.
According to command sources, the working assumption is that Hamas will focus all its efforts on restoring its capabilities.
Therefore, the main emphasis is on potential smuggling routes: the Kerem Shalom crossing, tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor, the maritime arena, and from Sinai.
Additionally, there is an intelligence effort to locate weapons caches and manufacturing sites that Hamas keeps underground, far from the IDF's eyes. The assessment is that Hamas is not worried about a "personnel crisis." The terrorist organization will not struggle to recruit operatives for all its mechanisms in exchange for money and can manage with less skilled and less qualified personnel.
Therefore, the IDF focuses more on locating and destroying infrastructure and weapons rather than killing lower-level operatives. Preventing smuggling and Hamas's ability to rebuild itself will quickly eliminate the terrorist organization.
Return to areas of previous operations
The IDF has resumed operations in areas it has previously engaged in due to the renewed takeover by Hamas operatives. Yesterday, the air force carried out about thirty airstrikes in the Khan Yunis area, combined with artillery and tank fire. According to military sources, this was one of the highest firepower intensities employed in recent months within a short period.
From the morning hours, the IDF has been moving populations east of Khan Yunis to allow for large-scale maneuvers in the Bani Suheila, Al Qarara, and northern Abasan areas. The maneuver aims to damage rocket launch sites, underground sites, and Hamas's military infrastructure. According to military sources, the maneuver is based on intelligence from the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence.
Locating hostages and senior Hamas leadership
The relentless intelligence effort to locate senior Hamas leadership and military wing includes locating hostages' hiding places. The intelligence aim is to create opportunities for rescuing hostages and neutralizing senior figures. It is important to note that, according to security sources, Mohammed Deif, who was sitting next to Khan Yunis Brigade Commander Rafaat Salama, was eliminated along with him. At this stage, Deif's body has not been found, and Hamas has not declared his death.
Restoring civilian capabilities
The IDF has observed that Hamas exploits pauses in areas where the IDF does not maneuver to restore civilian infrastructure. Repeatedly, Hamas members are seen recruiting new operatives through food distribution centers. Recently, Hamas police and security personnel have stopped wearing uniforms and switched to civilian clothes but still carry weapons or batons to maintain order on the streets. Control over food distribution warehouses allows Hamas to dominate many areas.
Ground maneuver in Rafah
Currently, the main maneuver focuses on Rafah neighborhoods - deepening the military achievement and destroying Hamas infrastructure in the area. Over the past weekend, Division 162 increased pressure on the Tel Sultan neighborhood through a ground maneuver, targeting terrorists and locating underground complexes.
Another tactic preventing Hamas from rebuilding is continuing ground combat and airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip in locations where the IDF has not yet conducted ground maneuvers, such as Nuseirat. The IDF employs a similar tactic in areas where it has returned to maneuver, such as Shuja'iyya.
Buffer zone
The two regional brigades of the Gaza Division continue to build a buffer zone within the Gaza Strip. The goal is to define the kilometer adjacent to the border fence with Israel as a no-go zone for Palestinians, with clear open-fire instructions. The southern brigade has the highest rate of building the buffer zone.
Philadelphi Corridor
Activities to locate, map, and destroy tunnels underneath the Philadelphi Corridor continue.
Effect of military pressure and ground maneuvers
Sources in the Southern Command continue to report a certain movement of Palestinians from northern Gaza to the southern area, crossing the corridor under secure conditions and undergoing security checks. According to the sources, the trend is not large but significant enough to reduce the extent of Hamas's human shield in the northern Gaza Strip.
How has Hamas changed its operations?
Hamas's military wing no longer operates in large formations and has shifted to guerrilla warfare. The working assumption on the ground is that Hamas can plan attacks but currently prefers not to fight, thus retreating from any place the IDF reaches.
It is assessed that Hamas's retreat policy is due to the loss of experienced operatives and commanders and a shortage of weapons. Hamas's equipment shortage is so severe that they recently started using "reverse" cameras taken from vehicles as security cameras. The organization has also begun booby-trapping water tanks to harm IDF soldiers scanning the area.