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IDF Quietly Transitions to Phase 3 in the War Against Hamas
Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas, in this handout picture released on Jan. 2, 2024. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS
JNS.org – Without fanfare, the Israel Defense Forces is transitioning from phase 2 in the war against Hamas—the high-intensity stage of surging ground forces throughout Gaza—to phase 3, involving far more targeted operations, with a focus on the south of the Strip.
The decision to do so is based primarily on the IDF’s assessment that it has succeeded in dismantling Hamas’s organized military structures in northern Gaza and in Hamas’s former heartland of Gaza City, leaving disorganized terror cells that have fallen back on independent guerrilla warfare tactics.
“While there are still terrorists and weapons in the north, they are no longer functioning within an organized military framework, IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said on Jan. 6. “We are now operating differently in that area, with a different mix of forces, to deepen our achievements. We are currently focusing on the central Gaza Strip, in the area of the central camps, and in the southern Gaza Strip, in the area of Khan Yunis.
“This is still a complex operational activity, with hard battles being fought both in the center and the south. The fighting will continue into 2024,” Hagari added.
This coming year will likely see the IDF divide Gaza in two, with IDF units deployed to defend the dividing line while also working to make sure that tunnels cannot be used to move from north to south Gaza.
In practical terms, this means that large numbers of soldiers are being discharged, with reservists returning to the workforce to nourish the badly neglected economy and recharge ahead of a potential call-up to the north.
The operations in remaining Hamas strongholds such as Khan Yunis are being led by the IDF’s 98th Division, which features many special forces operators.
In the central Gaza Strip, the IDF is still involved in significant fighting in the area of the central camps in Al-Bureij, where it is locating tunnels, large underground weapons factories (from which weapons were sent along the Hamas military tunnel network to positions all over Gaza) and terrorists.
Flexibility, adaptability and ambiguity
The IDF’s shift from phase 2 to phase 3 (phase 1 involved airstrikes and massing forces throughout October ahead of the ground incursion into Gaza) is not being declared or occurring in one clear maneuver, much like the IDF’s ground offensive was not declared when it began at the end of October.
This approach is indicative of a broader tactical philosophy emphasizing flexibility, adaptability and ambiguity. This ambiguity serves multiple purposes: It allows the IDF to adjust its tactics based on realities in the field without being constrained by prior public commitments, and it keeps adversaries uncertain about precise future moves.
The realities in Gaza mean it is now clear that different military tactics are needed in the north and the south. The IDF’s decision to release many brigades back to the economy while refreshing forces indicates a long-term view of the campaign while recognizing the need to maintain operational readiness on the Lebanese border as well.
The conflict has been prolonged, already lasting some 100 days, which requires the IDF to manage its human and material resources carefully.
Giving the 98th Division, with its special forces, the lead in the war, in contrast to the more conventional divisions, is a response to the unique challenges in southern Gaza. This includes more contained operations with a focus on specific Hamas centers of gravity, involving tunnels where Hamas’s leadership likely is barricaded, together with many of Israel’s hostages. Above ground, many civilians remain.
The nature of combat in southern Gaza is therefore slower, more precise and targeted, involving raids and focused assaults rather than large-scale rapid maneuvers.
In northern Gaza, dismantling Hamas’s organized military capacity has already seen the elimination of many commanders to disrupt command and control, surrounding areas like Jabalia with combined forces, and unprecedented collaboration between the air force and ground forces. These tactics have yielded significant results, including the surrender of many Hamas field terror operatives and the collection of valuable intelligence.
Meanwhile, rocket caches and underground infrastructure continue to be destroyed, despite the sporadic rocket fire that continues from Gaza at Israeli civilian areas.
As the IDF moves forward with its operations in central and southern Gaza, it is applying lessons learned from earlier phases. The focus on intelligence-gathering, using classified ways to deal with tunnels, precision strikes, and minimizing civilian casualties while effectively dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities is part of those lessons.
No less important, the IDF must retain full freedom of movement in the coming years and conduct persistent security raids in response to intelligence, to prevent Hamas from rebuilding capabilities to serve its genocidal intentions, just as Israel does in Judea in Samaria every night.
The post IDF Quietly Transitions to Phase 3 in the War Against Hamas first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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IDF Denies Troops Fired on Civilians After Incidents of Settler Violence
Illustrative. Israeli troops during counterterrorism activity in Tulkarem, northwestern Samaria, September 2024. Photo: IDF.
i24 News – The IDF released a statement after an incident during which Israeli soldiers opened fire on Israeli civilians in the West Bank on Saturday night, denying that the trooped fired live ammunition.
This comes at the heels of arson incidents by settlers against Palestinian villages, with clashes breaking out. The IDF said that its soldiers had come under attack on Friday as they entered the area of Kafr Malik, the site of the disturbances, by Israeli civilians. “The undermining of the rule of law and the use of violence by a radical minority harm security and stability in the area.”
The IDF later said that “an initial investigation indicates that IDF forces did not fire live ammunition at Israeli civilians in the area. It should be clarified that the battalion commander’s force operating in the Baal Hatzor area of the Binyamin brigade did not fire live ammunition at all.” On the other hand, the civilians claimed this was false, posting a video that showed shell casings on the ground right next to where the troops were deployed.
Meanwhile, the police requested the remand of six individuals, two of whom are minors, to be extended in connection with the incident.
The IDF later said that, “in another area within the sector, stones were thrown at a military vehicle near the site of the clash by masked individuals from an ambush. The force responded with a warning shot of three bullets.” A possible connection “between this incident and the claim that an Israeli civilian was injured by live fire” is being investigated.
After the incidents late last week, the IDF issued an unusual directive for soldiers to exercise special vigilance and also prepare for scenarios involving nationalist incidents perpetrated by Israeli citizens. The directive was issued after a military vehicle was set on fire inside a Jewish settlement, the tires of an armored David vehicle were punctured, and a community policing caravan near the community of Beit El was also set on fire.
“The security establishment system is highly alert,” a security official told i24NEWS. “We are seeing an escalation on the ground – and if you cannot leave a military vehicle in a Jewish community without it being burned in the sector, it is a sign that the situation is dangerous.”
The post IDF Denies Troops Fired on Civilians After Incidents of Settler Violence first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Orders Evacuations in Northern Gaza as Trump Calls for War to End
US President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
The Israeli military ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza on Sunday before intensified fighting against Hamas, as US President Donald Trump called for an end to the war amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire.
“Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold talks later in the day on the progress of Israel’s offensive. A senior security official said the military will tell him the campaign is close to reaching its objectives, and warn that expanding fighting to new areas in Gaza may endanger the remaining Israeli hostages.
But in a statement posted on X and text messages sent to many residents, the military urged people in northern parts of the enclave to head south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which Israel designated as a humanitarian area. Palestinian and U.N. officials say nowhere in Gaza is safe.
“The (Israeli) Defense Forces is operating with extreme force in these areas, and these military operations will escalate, intensify, and extend westward to the city center to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations,” the military said.
The evacuation order covered the Jabalia area and most Gaza City districts. Medics and residents said the Israeli army’s bombardments escalated in the early hours in Jabalia, destroying several houses and killing at least six people.
At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, relatives arrived to pay their respects to white-shrouded bodies before they are buried.
“A month ago, they (Israel) told us to go to Al-Mawasi (in Khan Younis) and we stayed there for a month, it is a safe zone,” said Zeyad Abu Marouf. He said three of his children were killed and a fourth was wounded in the Israeli airstrike.
“We ask God and the Arabs to move and end this occupation and the injustice taking place against us,” Abu Marouf told Reuters.
NEW CEASEFIRE PUSH
The military escalation comes as Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, begin a new ceasefire effort to halt the 20-month-old conflict and secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages still being held by Hamas.
Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened following US and Israeli bombings of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
There has also been rising concern over how aid is being distributed to Gazans in the ruined enclave. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed over the past month in the vicinity of areas where food was being handed out, local hospitals and officials have said.
A Hamas official told Reuters the group had informed the mediators it was ready to resume ceasefire talks, but reaffirmed the group’s outstanding demands that any deal must end the war and secure an Israeli withdrawal from the coastal territory.
Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, only in a deal that will end the war. Israel says it can only end the war if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.
The post Israel Orders Evacuations in Northern Gaza as Trump Calls for War to End first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Russia Launches Largest Drone Attack Yet Against Ukraine, Kills F-16 Pilot
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 10, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
i24 News – Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia launched 537 drones and missiles against targets throughout Ukraine overnight between Saturday and Sunday, in what what described as the largest attack of the war.
Poland activated aerial defenses and scrambled jets as the six-hour onslaught continued. One Ukrainian F-16 pilot was killed as Kyiv attempted to intercept the missiles and drones, with 475 shot down.
“Tragically, while repelling the attack, our F-16 pilot, Maksym Ustymenko, died. Today, he destroyed seven aerial targets,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Ustymenko did everything possible, but his jet was damaged and started losing altitude,” the air force said, as quoted in Politico. “He died like a hero!”
The cities of Cherkasy, Lviv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv were targeted.
The Russia attack came after Ukraine attacked the Kirovske airfield in the Crimean Peninsula, targeting air defenses, drones, and even destroying several helicopters and an air defense system.
The post Russia Launches Largest Drone Attack Yet Against Ukraine, Kills F-16 Pilot first appeared on Algemeiner.com.