Operation 'Gideon’s Chariots' nears end, IOF pulling back
4 Min Read
While the IOF scales back in northern Gaza, Palestinian Resistance fighters escalate ambushes in the south, defying months of occupation assaults and setbacks.
-
Israeli APCs head towards the Gaza Strip border in southern occupied Palestine on October 13, 2023. (AP)
The Israeli military announced on Thursday that the 98th Division has completed its deployment in the northern Gaza Strip and is now transitioning to prepare "for future missions, in line with broader operational objectives". The shift marks a de-escalation in the scope of "Israel's" Operation Gideon’s Chariots, which is entering its final phase, Israeli media reported.
In recent weeks, the 98th division's focus was concentrated on the Shujaiyah and Zeitoun neighborhoods.
Operation Gideon’s Chariots, which a senior military official said is set to conclude in the coming days, has so far claimed the lives of 41 Israeli soldiers and officers, according to Israeli media. It reportedly aimed to dismantle three Hamas brigades and facilitate the rescue of captives.
Internal divisions within the Israeli leadership also surfaced this week, as per Israeli media. During a cabinet security session on Monday, Israeli army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir reportedly clashed with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Zamir warned that a full-scale "takeover of Gaza" could span several years and advocated instead for continued "precision" operations. In response, Smotrich demanded an apology, exclaiming, “We already miss Herzi Halevi. You attacked him over exactly the same things.”
Gaza continues to resist
This comes as the Palestinian Resistance continues carrying out significant operations and complex ambushes. The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced a series of coordinated operations on Thursday targeting occupation forces in the southern Gaza Strip, specifically in Khan Younis. The attacks come amid continuing confrontations and ongoing Israeli ground incursions into the besieged enclave.
According to a statement by the Resistance group, several mortar shells were fired at a gathering of Israeli soldiers and military vehicles east of the al-Qarara area, northeast of Khan Younis. The shelling reportedly caused casualties among the occupation forces.
In a separate operation, al-Qassam fighters detonated three barrel bombs inside an Israeli military vehicle hangar located south of the Batn al-Sameen area. The blast resulted in the killing and wounding of Israeli soldiers, according to the group.
Earlier in the day, the al-Qassam Brigades ambushed three Israeli armored personnel carriers in a well-coordinated attack east of Khan Younis. The operation was described by the group as "complex" and aimed at disrupting the advancement of Israeli military columns in the area.
'Gideon's Chariots' operation in Gaza is doomed to fail: Haaretz
In May, Israeli newspaper Haaretz condemned the "Gideon's Chariots" operation, calling it a doomed and misguided military campaign lacking both domestic and international legitimacy.
The operation, according to the paper, is built on political illusions and military objectives that are neither clear nor achievable.
At the time, military correspondent Yaniv Kubovich reported that newly issued operational directives to Israeli army commanders ranked captive recovery at the bottom of mission priorities, which reinforces longstanding concerns that the war’s publicly stated objective, the return of captives, was never taken seriously by either the government or military leadership.
Kubovich noted that the internal list of objectives undermines recent statements by Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and military spokesperson Avi Dovrin, who publicly emphasized that freeing captives was the army’s primary mission.
In contrast, the actual orders show that this goal has been sidelined, casting doubt on the integrity of official messaging.
The editorial also pointed out a shift in language from "abductees" to "hostages," a change that seems more rhetorical than substantive. Haaretz argued that rebranding the captives does not change the reality on the ground or the lack of urgency in efforts to secure their release, which remain overshadowed by broader military aims.
