On Thursday, October 19, 2023, the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth published what it described as “the broad outlines of the war plan” in order to change the situation in the Gaza Strip, hours after US President Joe Biden left Tel Aviv, on a solidarity visit, 13 days after... The Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

According to the newspaper, this plan will be implemented in several stages, the first stage: which is the ongoing fighting of intense bombing operations targeting the Gaza Strip since the seventh day of October, which Israel says is in its infancy, leading to the final stage: which is the army’s withdrawal from Gaza and its return to His rules.

Below are the broad outlines of Israel's war on the Gaza Strip:

1- An operation similar to “Defensive Shield”: This operation will be in the form of an attack, concentrated in the northern Gaza Strip, in order to control it, which will enable the occupation forces to collect individual intelligence information.

The goal of this step, according to the Israeli newspaper, is to stop rocket launches and destroy the military and governmental capabilities of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements.

The newspaper adds: "This is the goal of the air strikes taking place now. Actual control over the entire northern sector is necessary to harm the fighters and military infrastructure, and this is also where the Hamas regime's center of government is located."

2- In the southern Gaza Strip, Israel will work to achieve exactly the same goals, but using other means, relying on accurate intelligence information that Israeli intelligence already has, or intelligence that will be collected during the fighting.

3- As for the ongoing confrontations with southern Lebanon, the newspaper says that the Israeli army will continue its skirmishes with Hezbollah, with the Palestinians operating from Lebanon, and perhaps also with armed groups from Syria and Iraq, in an effort to keep the conflicts below the threshold of war and confine them to the border areas.

The newspaper adds: “The Israeli army will essentially continue to maintain a state of alert for strong and large-scale military action in Lebanon, including ground maneuvers, if Hezbollah launches an all-out war at the request of the Iranians.”

It is natural that Israel would prefer to focus and harness the best forces and resources in the fighting in Gaza in order to achieve rapid achievements there. But if Hezbollah and the Iranians decide to escalate into a major war, the IDF has the ability to conduct active combat on a large scale on two fronts, and this will cause the fighting to continue for longer than desired.

4 - In conjunction with the fighting in the north and south of the Gaza Strip, Israel will work with the United States and the United Nations at the humanitarian level to maintain the legitimacy and political and logistical support that the United States and its allies provide for military action.

This includes humanitarian corridors and safe haven areas used by Palestinians who fled their homes in Gaza in accordance with Israel's invitation. Their flow will increase as the attack begins.

According to the newspaper, international entities and Arab countries will supply these areas - under the supervision and control of the Israeli army and the United Nations - with basic supplies including water, food, medicine, and basic services such as electricity and temporary housing.

5- According to the results that will be achieved on the ground in the first weeks of the fighting, Israel will have to reach decisions with the United States about the desired “exit plan,” and initiate the necessary political action to achieve and implement it.

The plan to exit the Gaza Strip and the arrangements on the ground after the exit must ensure the achievement of the desired strategic goals of Israel and the United States in the medium term (5-10 years).

The Israeli newspaper also published what it said were the five strategic goals that Tel Aviv seeks to achieve in the medium term after the end of the fighting in the Gaza Strip, which are as follows:

1. The entire sector must be demilitarized, and arrangements and mechanisms must be made to ensure this.

2. The administration in Gaza must be civil - professional - and not ideological - religious - and not political, and its only interest and directives should be to focus on the well-being of the Palestinian population. It will derive its authority from the basis of broad international legitimacy, and should be based on local civilian administration and officials, provided that their members are not former activists in the military wing of Hamas or other armed organizations.

The civilian government mechanism, in addition to local police, will rely on an international law enforcement force and cessation of hostilities arrangements. Gaza will receive a deep-water port that will operate under security supervision and the movement of passengers and tourists to and from Cyprus will also be allowed.

3. Israel must establish an integrated warning and defense system on the border that provides security for its citizens in the event that the conditions required in the Gaza Strip are not met or violated. The security arrangements will include a security perimeter ranging from one to three kilometers wide, and residents of the Gaza Strip will not be allowed to enter it without special permission. Whoever enters without permission risks his life.

4. The IDF will not remain in Gaza for longer than is necessary to achieve immediate combat objectives and enable the establishment of an alternative administration in the Gaza Strip. However, the IDF and the Shin Bet will reserve the right to engage in what is known as “hot pursuit” to thwart terrorist attacks and war intentions even after it returns to Israeli territory.

5. Israel will take into account the global strategic interests and considerations of the United States, domestic political considerations, and the religious and strategic interests of Islamic countries in the region with which we have peace agreements, normalization, and diplomatic relations.

Israeli official circles have already said that Israel is determined to bring about a radical change in the status quo, and the security establishment realizes the need for a radical change in patterns of thinking and action at the political and military levels.

The newspaper adds: “The measures this time will be different from how things were in previous rounds of battles with Gaza, as political and military estimates in Israel assumed from the beginning of the round that Hamas would remain sovereign over the Gaza Strip at the end of the battle.”

According to the newspaper: “The change in operational patterns depends on prolonging the phases of combat in order to reach the best result. This explains, for example, the phase of prolonging air, sea, and artillery strikes in preparation for ground entry.”