The IDF evacuated tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians from northern Gaza on Sunday as it invaded Jabalya for the fourth time since the start of the Israel-Hamas War, seemingly in an attempt to flip the script on Hamas.
The military has been stuck since mid-June in trying to create some new kind of pressure on Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar, which would lead to a hostage exchange deal on terms that the government would find acceptable.
In the background, former National Security Council chief Giora Eiland, and with him a group of hundreds of mid-level reservist officers, have been pushing in recent months for a complete evacuation of northern Gaza to achieve the desired new pressure on Sinwar.
Sunday’s move by the IDF appeared to be an in-between position of moving a significant portion of the 150,000–250,000 Palestinian civilians out of northern Gaza without going “all the way” with the Eiland plan.
Alternatively, the move could be a prelude toward a gradual and creeping evacuation of all of northern Gaza, but in a slower motion in order to reduce global opposition, especially by the US.
The military focused on the 162nd Division’s 401st and 460th armored brigades surrounding Jabalya overnight after receiving intelligence that Hamas has been reconstituting itself in the area.
IDF expands humanitarian efforts in northern Gaza
Until now, the 162nd Division had been fighting Hamas in Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor since early May but has now handed that area over to the less robust Gaza Division, based on the idea that most of its work in Rafah is done.
The IDF said that it had already carried out dozens of airstrikes and artillery shelling prior to the ground troops entering Jabalya.
Military sources did not commit to a specific timeline for how long they would be in Jabalya, but in general, such re-invasions have lasted somewhere between several days and a few weeks.
At the same time, the IDF has expanded the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi in northern Gaza, it announced Sunday morning.
This expansion included field hospitals established since the outbreak of the war, tent compounds, and supplies of food, water, and medicine.
Significantly, two evacuation routes from northern Gaza to its South have been reopened: one along the Salah al-Din Road and the other along the Al-Rashid coastal road, the military stated.
The IDF also noted that it had published maps for Palestinian civilians highlighting evacuation areas in northern Gaza, including “block zones” that correspond to neighborhoods and regions.
This evacuation comes only a day after the IDF started to evacuate Palestinian civilians from parts of central Gaza where Division 252 is still searching for concealed Hamas cells.
Separately, the military announced on Sunday that two soldiers had fallen recently in Gaza. The soldiers were named as Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Nir Hadad and Sgt. Daniel Aviv Haim Sofer.
Hamas also managed to fire off a small number of rockets, although none of them succeeded in striking populated areas or traveled far from the border, and some were shot down.
The IDF has said it is especially ready for any attempted military surprises by Hamas on the anniversary of October 7.
Regarding Iran, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant continued to threaten to hit back hard for Tehran’s massive attack on Israel on October 1. He also claimed that the IDF’s Nevatim base, which he visited on Sunday, was fully operational, though satellite footage from foreign reports had indicated 30 impacts from Iranian rockets, including on at least one runway.
Gallant is expected to fly to Washington on Wednesday to discuss all of the Middle East security situations with top US defense officials.
Questioned about whether this meant a delay in Israel’s attack until Gallant had spoken in person with top American officials, there was no response from Gallant’s office at press time.
Alternatively, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just two weeks ago used his trip to speak at the UN as cover for a secret plan to give Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah a false sense of security and assassinate him at the same time.
In the meantime, Iran grounded all flights throughout the country until at least Monday out of concern of a possible attack, hoping it would be easier to track Israeli aircraft or missiles coming in if the airspace was clear.
In Lebanon, the IDF undertook around 150 airstrikes in support of ground troops in Divisions 98 and 36, which have been operating in southern Lebanon since September 30.
Col. Or Volozinsky of Brigade 188 said that his forces were destroying large amounts of Hezbollah Radwan special forces weapons stored in almost every house.
In one house alone, the IDF found and plans to destroy dozens of anti-tank missiles.
The anti-tank missiles are Hezbollah’s main threat against IDF invading forces and caused deaths and injuries to IDF soldiers on October 2.
Since that incident, however, Volozinsky said the military has adjusted its tactics to generally only enter new areas after having used greater amounts of artillery, tank fire, and air strikes to clear out potential Hezbollah ambush forces.
IDF sources did start to signal that they expect to be in Lebanon longer than the two to three weeks originally set down by top officials when the invasion started.
In addition, they noted that the air force killed the Hezbollah commander who planned the anti-tank missile attack, which killed two Israelis in Kfar Yuval in the North on January 14.
With almost a week passed into the invasion, IDF sources suggested they were still just at the very beginning of taking apart Hezbollah’s capabilities in southern Lebanon, and that significant time could be needed to carry out the mission properly.
Given that most of the world opposed any invasion, pressure could quickly ratchet up on the country if it continues past the original few declared weeks.
At the same time, the number of dying Lebanese civilians has dropped significantly in recent days since most had evacuated southern Lebanon before the invasion began.
To date, Hezbollah has only provided a small number of spots of resistance during the invasion, far less than during the Second Lebanon War (2006).
Late Sunday night, the IDF continued to close off border towns for military use, adding Manara, Yiftah, and Malkiya to several towns that have been closed off since last week.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah has maintained rocket fire both on the northern border and deeper into Israel, including a direct hit on a residence in Ma’alot, though there were no reported injuries.
The IDF estimated Hezbollah fired around 25 rockets midday and around 30 rockets overnight between Saturday and Sunday.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.