Gaza military takeover is a must: The US DOD contractor explains why

After a 10-hour-long meeting, on Thursday night, the Israeli government approved a plan to take over the Gaza Strip to destroy what remains of Hamas and free the hostages who are still in the hands of the Palestinian terrorist organization.

As reported by The Times of Israel, the phased plan could last over five months and it would begin with the takeover of Gaza City, in the north of the Strip, and camps in the central Strip, moving half of the enclave’s population southward toward the Mawasi humanitarian zone.

The plan’s first phase would aim to carry out the evacuation operation; only then, the IDF would launch the second phase, to stranglehold specific areas and eliminate what is left of Hamas. In the meantime, the United States and Israel would accelerate the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The Security Cabinet indicated five principles for ending the war: 1- disarming Hamas, 2- returning all hostages (both living and murdered), 3- demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, 4- Israel maintaining security control over the Gaza Strip,  5- implementing a civilian government that is not controlled by either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.

The plan appears to be similar to the so-called “clear, hold, build” strategy already used in Iraq and Afghanistan by US troops, obviously adapted to the current context in Gaza.

The ”clear” phase implies eliminating or capturing enemy forces, and it is initiated by a clear-in-zone or cordon-and-search operation, as well as patrolling, and targeted raids. In this phase, the troops will also have to quickly locate where the hostages are held and conduct precise raids to get them out. It is indeed a considerable risk, but the alternative would be worse, since time is running out.

The “hold” phase aims at maintaining the seized and cleared areas secure from terrorist presence, and requires sufficient ground troops and surveillance to prevent any potential return of enemy forces.

The “build phase” is designed to remove the root causes that led to the terrorist takeover, and improve the lives of the inhabitants through reconstruction, the development of a prosperous economy, and an administration that does not involve terrorism.

Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad remain significant impediments to achieving lasting peace in Gaza. Their governance of the Strip has been characterized by the use of coercion, violence, and political repression. While many residents of Gaza face dire living conditions, Hamas’ leadership has been reported to live in luxury abroad. It is also worth recalling that Hamas has never held new elections since coming to power in 2007 and has eliminated all opposition.

During an exclusive interview with Jonis Hemmer on Fox News, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, made two things clear: that Israel intends to militarily take over the entire Gaza Strip, but it does not want to govern it. The objective is to install a security barrier, and to hand it over to a civil authority that will govern it.

Israel has no intention of occupying the Gaza Strip for the purpose of governance. Rather, any comprehensive military operation is driven by strategic objectives, as achieving the complete dismantling of Hamas is deemed unattainable without full operational control over the territory, which is very different from an occupation aiming to rule over the people.

As explained to us by Gianpiero Spinelli, a US Department of Defense military and security contractor with previous experience in Iraq and who has also trained civil and military police forces in Brazil, the full military control of the Strip is essential because, once control of every urban radial segment has been achieved, it is clear that intelligence operations can also be carried out in a more widespread and in-depth manner. Once the IDF has full control over Gaza, the underground terror cells will not be able to last for long and won’t have room for maneuver. Spinelli also explained that, regarding the hostages, when an operation to free them is set up, it is taken into account that they may die. There is no zero risk guarantee.

Once the IDF has comprehensive control of every centimeter of the territory, the intelligence and special forces can operate in a more detailed manner and with permanent coverage.

He also added an important element, that a Brazilian commission headed by Fabricio Oliveira, director of operations of CORE is currently visiting Israel for a technical exchange. CORE stands for Coordenadoria de Recursos Especiais, and it’s the police tactical unit of the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro State.

Spinelli explained: “The Brazilians are the only ones who have developed a technique that employs warfare procedures, combat in urban areas, with the ability to distinguish between illegitimate targets. In the favelas run by criminal organizations, Brazilian forces find themselves having to wage quasi-conventional warfare, but without the support of tools typically used in conventional warfare, such as artillery or air force.”

Indeed, this type of tactical knowledge could be very useful inside Gaza’s tunnels, to take out Hamas.