Falcon powers – Israeli military analyst Yoav Zitun stated that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has begun to regain control of unguarded areas in Gaza and is using guerrilla warfare in its resistance against the Israeli army.
In an analysis published by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Zitun added that Hamas’ reclaiming of those areas coincides with the Israeli army making its way to the southern city of Rafah, while being denied access to weapons by the United States.
While the world’s attention, including Israel’s, is focused on Rafah, where the Israeli army has initiated a limited and targeted ground operation in the east, a new reality is emerging in another part of Gaza that reflects a military resurgence for Hamas and the solidification of the Israeli army’s presence beyond the border.
According to the newspaper, the Israeli army recently completed the construction of four large settlement outposts along the Netzarim corridor to provide relatively comfortable and permanent accommodation for hundreds of soldiers, who now belong to two reserve brigades, one of which is responsible for the new port that the US army is currently constructing in Gaza.
The analysis revealed that Israeli soldiers are also deployed in temporary frontline positions across an approximately 3-kilometer-wide strip of land. In the middle of the strip lies a new and fast road that the army has paved, starting from the 96 Crossing near the border next to Kibbutz Be’eri.
This road ends at a frontline site and a nearby coastal inspection point where the Americans will soon complete the construction of a small port intended to receive humanitarian aid from the sea, reducing the transportation of aid trucks between the separated parts of the sector.
Zitun revealed that the Israeli army has observed the gathering of hundreds of Hamas fighters from various areas in the sector to reinforce the Central Towns Battalions affiliated with the movement, which the Israeli army has not yet dealt with.
He stated that these forces represent the Nusairat and Bureij Battalions, where Hamas has been preparing ambushes and numerous explosive fields in anticipation of the possible arrival of army brigades.
He noted that the army is preparing for another “horrifying” scenario, which involves the expected rush of thousands of Gaza civilians towards the Netzarim axis with the aim of returning to their homes in the northern part of the sector.
According to the newspaper’s analysis, Israeli officers have developed emergency plans in the event of this scenario, which Hamas would consider another victory in the war, as hundreds of soldiers would face thousands of Gaza civilians in broad daylight, a situation that Zitun considers “nightmarish and that spreads negative propaganda among the public.”
Yedioth Ahronoth cited official military reports and testimonies from soldiers stationed in the fortification task on the Netzarim axis, stating that Hamas attacks Israeli forces daily with mortar shells, preventing approximately one million Palestinians from returning to the northern part of the sector.
