Israeli military preparing to withdraw from Gaza: Israeli media

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
14 Jan 2025 23:25
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As discussions about an imminent ceasefire deal in Gaza continue, a political source within the Israeli government says "Israel" has realized that Hamas cannot be defeated solely through military solutions.

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Israeli soldiers overlook the Gaza Strip from a tank, as seen from southern occupied Palestine, on Friday, January 19, 2024 (AP)

Israeli media reported on preparations by the Israeli occupation military in anticipation of its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip following situational assessments conducted over the past 24 hours by the Southern Command.

Qatar, a key mediator, said on Tuesday that negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange deal between the Palestinian Resistance and "Israel" were in their "final stages", expressing hope an agreement could be reached "very soon".

US President Joe Biden also said Monday that an agreement was "on the brink" of being finalized.

Itay Blumental, Kan's military correspondent, cited a security source as saying that the Israeli military is preparing to withdraw from the Rafah crossing, as well as from the Netzarim and Philadelphi routes, shortly after a ceasefire-prisoner exchange agreement is signed.

Additionally, "Israel" is planning to redeploy its forces around the Gaza Strip and withdraw its troops gradually, with the military establishing a buffer zone approximately one kilometer wide as part of the agreement, Blumental mentioned.

The Israeli military correspondent also noted that the potential Israeli withdrawal from Gaza was coordinated yesterday between Israeli, Egyptian, and American security officials.

'Israel' failed miserably in everything related to Gaza

As discussions about an imminent ceasefire agreement in Gaza continue, a political source within the Israeli occupation government told Channel 13 that "Israel" has realized that Hamas cannot be defeated solely through military solutions, pointing out that the current events in the northern Gaza Strip prove this.

The source emphasized that Hamas has managed to re-recruit a number of fighters nearly equivalent to those it has lost, Israeli media reported.

In the same context, the former head of "Israel’s" Security Council, Giora Eiland, acknowledged that the Israeli occupation entity had "failed miserably in everything related to Gaza" and was unable to achieve the objectives it set out for the war.

Eiland told Channel 13 that Hamas is recovering from the severe blow it endured, that not all the captives will return, and that "Israel" will certainly not eliminate Hamas' authority in the Gaza Strip.

He also asserted that the Israeli military pressure on Hamas "achieved nothing", noting that the proposed ceasefire-prisoner exchange deal now and the one proposed last May "are very similar."

Eiland added that "Israel" wasted eight months, during which 110 soldiers were killed in Gaza, and a significant portion of the captives have died.

"If this deal had been on the table eight months ago, and we applied intense military pressure only to arrive at the same deal, it means there is no connection between the military pressure and Hamas' willingness to show flexibility," he explained.

The retired Israeli general considered that the war "is over, and there will be no resumption of the war, regardless of what the US President-elect, Donald Trump, says."

"The only one unwilling to acknowledge this is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but everyone else, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, understands this," Eiland stressed.