With Trump's blessing, Israel has Hamas terrorists on back foot: 'Operating in survival mode'

Israel’s warfare successful Gaza resumed successful afloat unit past week aft the illness of a two-month ceasefire and a deadlock successful negotiations implicit the merchandise of the remaining hostages. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a caller question of airstrikes, rapidly followed by coordinated crushed operations successful 3 cardinal areas: the Netzarim Corridor, Gaza’s bluish coastline and the Rafah territory successful the south.

With expanded U.S. enactment and favorable shifts successful the determination landscape, this adjacent signifier signals a important improvement successful Israel’s subject objectives, from degrading Hamas’s battlefield capabilities to dismantling its quality to govern.

"We’ve been warring them for 10 days," said Maj. Gen. Yaakov Amidror (res.), erstwhile Israeli nationalist information advisor. "All they’ve managed to bash is occurrence 7 rockets. That tells you however overmuch harm we’ve inflicted already."

ISRAEL LAUNCHES NEW GROUND OPERATION IN GAZA

IDF troops encircled Tel al-Sultan successful Rafah, Gaza, arsenic they dismantled violent infrastructure successful the area. The IDF said the cognition was to reenforce power and grow the information portion successful confederate Gaza. (IDF)

A elder Israeli information authoritative told Fox News Digital: "We seized weapons caches, labs, and bid centers. Hamas contiguous is not functioning similar an army. It’s a unsafe panic group, but it’s not what it was connected October 7."

According to Israeli data, astir of Hamas’s elder bid has been eliminated and lone fragmented units remain.

"They’ve mislaid their experienced leadership," the authoritative said. "They’re operating successful endurance mode."

This time, Israel is operating nether dramatically improved conditions, some militarily and diplomatically.

"The strategical situation has changed," Amidror told Fox News Digital. "Hezbollah is weaker, Iran is constrained, and the American medication is offering america existent support. They’re not telling america wherever to weaponry oregon however to fight."

With less threats connected different fronts and beardown backing from the Trump administration, the IDF has broadened its scope to see Hamas’s governmental leadership.

"We’re not conscionable degrading subject capabilities anymore," Amidror said. "We’re dismantling the operation that allowed Hamas to govern."

During the intermission successful fighting, Hamas consolidated power implicit humanitarian aid, confiscating supplies, reselling goods and utilizing them to enlistee fighters and support loyalty. Israeli officials present accidental that won’t beryllium allowed to continue.

TRUMP SAYS US WILL 'TAKE OVER' GAZA STRIP, REBUILD IT TO STABILIZE MIDDLE EAST

Hamas terrorists ticker arsenic hostages are released to the Red Cross arsenic portion of a ceasefire woody betwixt Israel and Hamas. (TPS-IL)

"We are moving to find a solution truthful that humanitarian assistance reaches civilians and is not weaponized by Hamas," the elder Israeli information authoritative explained. He noted that Gaza presently has capable nutrient reserves and that Israel is processing caller transportation mechanisms that bypass Hamas entirely.

Fifty-nine Israeli hostages stay successful Hamas captivity. Their continued detention has sparked nationwide protests, with families urging the authorities to prioritize a negotiated release. But the renewed warring puts those hostages successful greater danger.

"The lone existent regulation is the hostages," Amidror acknowledged. "We privation them alive, and warring a warfare portion trying to support them is simply a immense challenge."

"My presumption is that archetypal we person to get the hostages back, adjacent if we request to perpetrate to extremity the warfare and propulsion backmost to a information perimeter," said Ram Ben Barak, erstwhile lawman caput of Mossad and existent Knesset member. "We tin perpetrate to that, but lone if Hamas gives each the hostages back. If they don’t, that unsocial is simply a crushed to spell backmost to war. And adjacent if Hamas does instrumentality them, we’ll beryllium watching. If Hamas starts smuggling weapons again oregon grooming fighters, that, too, volition beryllium a crushed to spell successful and deed them hard."

Israeli soldiers beryllium connected a vessel successful beforehand of the bluish Gaza Strip arsenic seen from a presumption connected the Israeli broadside of the borderline connected March 18, 2025. (Amir Levy/Getty Images)

The information authoritative said subject unit is portion of a coordinated effort to bring the hostages home.

"They released a radical of hostages earlier than planned due to the fact that of the unit we applied successful Netzarim erstwhile they refused to merchandise Arbel Yehud," helium said.

Despite tactical gains, Israeli leaders cognize the warfare cannot destruct Hamas’s ideology. The mission, they say, is to forestall it from ever ruling Gaza again.

MORE AID IS SUPPOSED TO BE ENTERING THE GAZA STRIP. WHY ISN’T IT HELPING?

Israeli troops encircle Tel al-Sultan successful Gaza. (IDF)

"We won’t spell backmost to the days erstwhile we fto them softly physique an army," Ben Barak told Fox News Digital. "We’ll onslaught each clip we spot subject grooming oregon arms smuggling. They’ll ne'er person tanks oregon armored vehicles again."

Ben Barak said Israel can't stay successful Gaza long-term: "If we enactment similar we did successful Lebanon for 19 years, we’ll permission successful shame. The lone mode to triumph is to person idiosyncratic other regenerate Hamas and govern Gaza."

He besides pointed to the West Bank arsenic a partial model: "In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority governs, and we run from the perimeter erstwhile needed. We request the aforesaid successful Gaza: an internationally backed civilian authorization that rebuilds the [Gaza] Strip and keeps Hamas out."

Still, helium cautioned against illusions of peace.

"There won’t beryllium bid successful the adjacent 20 years. But similar Egypt did with the Muslim Brotherhood, we tin suppress Hamas’s ideology and halt it from taking basal again."

Ben Barak besides said Gazans who privation to permission should beryllium allowed to: "Let them out. If they person visas and privation to go, Israel should fto them. It volition marque subject operations easier successful a little densely populated area."

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Israeli forces are present profoundly embedded successful Gaza, with simultaneous operations successful the north, southbound and cardinal regions.

"These aren’t symbolic moves," Amidror said. "We’re positioning ourselves for the adjacent stage. We volition yet request to scope each tunnel, stroke up the infrastructure, and termination each Hamas terrorist. It is achievable, but it volition instrumentality astatine slightest a year."