The Israeli army is preparing to change its strategy in the Gaza Strip, by reducing the intensity of the fighting and prolonging its duration, to reach the goal it set, which is “eliminating the Hamas movement.”

According to Israeli Channel 12, the Israeli army “will establish a kilometer-wide buffer zone inside the Strip on its border with Israel, which will expand the existing buffer zone.”

iT added: “Infantry forces, largely composed of conscripts, will occupy the area to ensure that no one in Gaza is able to approach the fence with Israel and launch attacks from there.”

The channel's report indicated that "the presence of Israeli forces there will be much less than it is currently."

The channel did not attribute this information to any source, but Israeli military correspondents are often informed of the army’s plans.

A Channel 12 correspondent said: “The assumption behind the change in strategy is that the complete defeat of Hamas will not be achieved through a large-scale ground attack, but through a long war of attrition.”

He continued: "It may take months or even years, but creating a new reality in Gaza will require a diplomatic process and economic moves in addition to what the army is doing."

The new strategy comes at a time when the US administration continues to demand that Israel reduce the harm to civilians in Gaza, as the death toll in the Strip approaches 21,000, more than half of whom are children and women.

The Axios website quoted a senior Israeli defense official as saying that the United States would be satisfied if Israel ended the high-intensity phase of the operation by the end of this December, while Israel expects this to happen next January.

Source: Sky News