Israeli Army Expands Deployment in Gaza, Escalating Conflict

A report by Amale Chehadeh, English adaptation by Nadine Sassine


In a decision that has reverted the al-Aqsa Flood War to its initial stage, the Israeli army has deployed ten brigades in the Gaza Strip, marking its largest deployment in four months. 

This includes five brigades allocated to Rafah in the south, three to Jabalia in the north, and two to the central region of the strip.

Despite warnings about the repercussions of intensifying the fighting there, officials insist that only this approach will subdue Hamas and secure the release of hostages.

As the army commits daily massacres against Palestinian civilians, Israeli hospitals have reported an unprecedented increase in the number of wounded soldiers being transported to them twice daily by helicopter, compared to once a week before the fighting intensified. 

Hospitals have also begun relocating patients and soldiers to shelters and safe underground locations, fearing an escalation of conflict with Hezbollah.

Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi stated that the fighting on both fronts is expected to be long-term. His comments were made from Jabalia.

Halevi’s statements came as data revealed that only thirty percent of Hamas leaders have been killed in the battles, and the army has failed to destroy sixty-five percent of the tunnels. 

Meanwhile, negotiations over a hostage deal have entered a more complex phase. A report claimed that Ahmad Abdel Khalek, the deputy head of Egyptian intelligence, altered the agreement draft discussed with Israel without informing any of the mediators and conveyed a different version to Hamas than what was agreed upon with Washington and Tel Aviv. Israel viewed this step as indicative of close coordination between Egypt and Hamas against Israel.

Amid escalating security tensions on the Gaza and Lebanon fronts, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the war cabinet for an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss ways to handle the hostage deal and the outcomes of meetings with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. 

These discussions have focused on the continued intensification of fighting in Gaza and normalization with Saudi Arabia. 

Concurrently, it has been revealed that Netanyahu informed the Americans that obstructing the transfer of weapons to Israel would hinder all decisions that Tel Aviv is required to implement, most notably the hostage deal.