Israeli military analysts and correspondents claimed on Friday that Israeli forces are conducting "reduced" military operations and that "there is almost no fighting in the Gaza Strip."

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper stated that the Israeli Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, and Avi Dvrin are insisting on a "policy of blackout" on this issue, "hiding most military operations despite the lack of popular support, such as during the invasion at the beginning of the war and ending last August, with the occupation of the Philadelphi Corridor, and the recent intensive military operation in Rafah."

The newspaper added that the Israeli army attributes the "concealment" to two reasons: the first is that Hamas is not aware of the direction and nature of the current military operation; and the second is that the Israeli army, and Zamir in particular, "want to act first and then talk" about the military operations, after he declared in his inaugural speech that "Hamas has not been defeated, and we have years of a multi-front war of attrition ahead of us."

The newspaper pointed out that during the ground invasion of the Gaza Strip last year, the Israeli army updated the public daily on the progress of the war, and the army allowed reporters to conduct field interviews in the Gaza Strip weekly, "in order to bring the voices of soldiers and officers into Israeli homes and to their families." However, "today, even the faces of soldiers and officers below the rank of brigadier general are forbidden from being shown, for fear of their involvement abroad in violating international law," meaning committing war crimes.

The newspaper added that this blackout policy is very convenient for the political echelon as well, especially Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz.

The current ground incursion is being falsely portrayed in the media as a resumption of the offensive against Hamas or a full-scale resumption of the war. Thus, right-wing circles can sit back and believe that the IDF is breaking Hamas's bones once again, that Ben-Gvir is returning to the government, and that Smotrich is stopping his threats to withdraw from the government. Both seem to know the truth, and perhaps even share it: Hamas remains, with decisive assistance from Israeli policy, as a reserve force in the Gaza Strip to isolate it from the Palestinian Authority.

The newspaper quoted an Israeli officer as saying, "There are almost no armed clashes in the current military operation because it is limited and partial, and also because most of the Hamas members in deserted Rafah have fled to the displaced cities in Khan Yunis."

"We continue to hunt them down from the air and try to locate Hamas leaders. This creates movement and pressure on Hamas, but it cannot decide the war."

According to Amos Harel, a military analyst for Haaretz, "The clear impression is that Zamir, who drew up the new offensive plans, is being careful not to get involved in clashes that would result in many casualties, at least as long as there is no direct order from the government to reoccupy the Strip."

The Israeli military claims that the goal of the current military operation is to eliminate Hamas's Rafah Brigade. However, Harel pointed out that the Israeli military had previously announced that the Rafah Brigade had collapsed on September 12. He suggested that this discrepancy is related to the waste of months of futile negotiations until US President Donald Trump imposed the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement, which went into effect on January 19. "At that point, Hamas began to recover."

Harel continued, saying that Hamas has recruited tens of thousands of new fighters, and that although they are young and inexperienced, they know enough to fire Kalashnikov rifles and RPGs. Hamas has also begun renovating its rocket-making system, "and it wouldn't be a surprise if it tried to disrupt the Jewish Passover holiday tomorrow."