A retired American general revealed the damage that will befall the Israeli army during its cessation of fighting in the Gaza Strip, following a humanitarian truce.

General James “Spider” Marks said that the main impact on the Israeli army is the loss of intelligence information about the targets, noting that “the matter begins to atrophy, and the intelligence information they collected over the course of days in Gaza begins to collapse around them.”

He added in his interview with the American CNN network, that during this pause, Hamas will reposition itself and will do everything in its power to enhance its security.

He continued: "I think we have reached the point where the army (Israeli forces) must make a very difficult decision."

Marx added: "You are in Gaza and exposed. You have Hamas everywhere, and it is still active in the tunnel network system and has not been completely captured by the Israelis in any way. Therefore, these Israeli soldiers are targets. This is the challenge."

During his speech, he noted the possibility of extending the truce from 4 days to 5 or 6 days if the exchange of prisoners required it, indicating that in that case, "it will become a very difficult military mission. The Israelis will have to move to a defensive position at that stage."

He explained that “pause is not a military term,” and added: “Either you attack or you defend. They will have to start defending, which completely changes the specific mission. This will become a mission that is very difficult for the Israeli military commanders to implement.”

At dawn on Wednesday, Hamas and the State of Qatar announced that they had reached a humanitarian truce agreement that included the exchange of prisoners, after several rounds of negotiations that witnessed Qatari, Egyptian and American mediations.

The agreement includes the exchange of 50 women and children prisoners held by the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip in the first phase, in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian women and children imprisoned in the occupation prisons, with the timing of the beginning of the truce being announced within 24 hours.

Under the announced deal, a larger number of humanitarian convoys and relief aid, including fuel designated for humanitarian needs, will be allowed to enter.