The American newspaper "The Wall Street Journal" pointed out that Israel is preparing to invade the Gaza Strip with the clear aim of destroying the ability of the "Hamas" movement to rule, but it has not developed any clear strategy regarding the stage after the ground invasion.

Israel spoke of an imminent massive attack, and sent tanks, snipers, artillery units, and tens of thousands of troops to the borders of the Gaza Strip, demanding that civilians living in the northern part of the Strip, an area with a population of 1.1 million people, leave for their safety.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said on Friday, after his meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Tel Aviv: “We will destroy Hamas’ rule, eliminate its military capabilities, and get rid of this threat on our borders.”

But Israeli leaders still have to answer another important question: What's next for Hamas?

Jacob Nagel, who served as National Security Advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is in contact with government officials, said: “The most important thing is to act and put an end to the problem. After that we decide what to do,” noting that what happened over the weekend changed all the rules of the game. .

One American official pointed out that there have been no significant discussions so far with Israeli officials regarding the aftermath of the invasion. This is the dilemma that faced US leaders after the September 11 attack in 2001, when the attack launched by Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan paved the way for Washington to invade Iraq. The official said that Israel must think about the consequences and not rush into war without an exit strategy, adding: “Israel has no plan... If Hamas is destroyed, who will replace it?”

In fact, Israel has fought four wars in the Gaza Strip with Hamas since the movement took control of the Strip in 2007, but this time will be different. Israel responded to the attacks with military campaigns aimed at deterring Hamas and weakening its ability to carry out future strikes. Israeli officials referred to this strategy as “mowing the lawn,” a way of reducing the problem without addressing the underlying issues. Israeli leaders from all political viewpoints adopted this approach, due to the absence of alternatives.

But the sudden movement process led to changing this model. Today, Israel is preparing for its largest-ever military campaign in Gaza, a campaign aimed at decisively ending Hamas' rule.

If Israel is able to overthrow Hamas, the first option may be to send its forces to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, as it did until 2005, but it does not wish to send military forces again to impose military rule on the Gaza Strip. Nagel said: “We do not want to rule Gaza, that is for sure.”

The second option, which is gaining popularity, is to try to crush the movement, then exit Gaza, and let the Palestinians and their supporters know what will happen next. This option poses a set of challenges, which may pave the way for more extremist forces to fill the power vacuum.

The third option is for Israel to pave the way for the return of the US-backed Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank.