IDF admits troop shortage affects ability to control Gaza

 The Israeli army has admitted that a troop shortage affects its ability to control the Gaza Strip, Walla news site has reported.

According to Israeli journalist Bini Aschkenasy, the army submitted a letter to the Supreme Court regarding the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave, in which it claimed that the number of troops and the nature of the army’s operations do not allow for the establishment of effective control in Gaza. The letter was submitted by the Attorney’s General Office on behalf of the army. It added that the ability of Hamas to exercise governmental powers has not been completely eliminated, over one year after Israel launched its devastating war.

“Following indications that Hamas is exploiting the entry of goods to strengthen itself economically and militarily, it was decided to prevent the entry of goods through private sector merchants into the Gaza Strip for the time being,” said the IDF. “Efforts are continuing to reach a solution and to help bring in as much humanitarian aid as possible through countries and international relief organisations operating in the Strip.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Tuesday that the occupation state has achieved great results towards its main goal of undermining Hamas’s control in Gaza. “We are destroying their military capabilities in an amazing way, and now we are moving on to targeting its power capabilities, and there are still steps to come,” he said. “Hamas will not be in Gaza.”

Meanwhile, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed in an interview with Ynet on Tuesday that Israel’s devastating war against the Palestinians in Gaza will lead to “a strong economy” in Israel.

Furthermore, former chief of staff and member of the War Cabinet, Gadi Eisenkot MK, has described Israel’s war plan as “very confused” during a conference held by Yedioth Ahronoth.

“There are people sitting in the room [ministers] who do not want to see the war end. Do they want to return the kidnapped soldiers based on Netanyahu’s current concepts, or Netanyahu’s plan?” he asked. “The war goal regarding the return of the kidnapped soldiers is a disastrous failure that falls on the shoulders of anyone who sat in the cabinet, and I bear responsibility when I was in the cabinet, and Netanyahu, who did nothing, must return them.”

Eisenkot explained that the coalition government agreements and the dismantling of the Civil Administration — the military unit responsible for implementing Israel’s civilian policy in the occupied West Bank — have been accompanied by the desire to build settlements in the Gaza Strip, which led to the existence of declared and hidden war goals, which Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and a section of Netanyahu’s Likud Party adhere to.

“This explains many decisions regarding the day after [the war ends] and the kidnapped soldiers. This duality is on Netanyahu, as he says that there will be no settlement and no military rule, and in fact both are happening,” said the member of parliament. “In practice, they are seeking to have the Israeli army responsible for distributing aid, and to establish military rule [in Gaza], and thus the absolute responsibility will be on the State of Israel according to international law, and this is another step by a group that does not know how to bear responsibility.”

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241121-idf-admits-troop-shortage-affects-ability-to-control-gaza/