Will Israel succeed in forming a buffer zone in Gaza?
Israel was supposed to control the security of Gaza after the defeat of Hamas and the disarmament of Gaza. With the continuation of the process of failure in ground operations, this goal was reduced to creating a buffer line, but this goal also seems far from reach.
guest note; In early December, after a week-long cease-fire in the Gaza war, Israel informed the US that it intends to create a buffer or safe zone between itself and Gaza. It was said in the news that Israel has informed this intention to Egypt, Jordan and UAE as well as Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Ofer Falk, Benjamin Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser, said at the time that Israel resumed its attack with greater intensity after a week-long break, and by the way, its casualties in Gaza increased since then, this plan has three stages. It will include the destruction of Hamas, the disarmament of Gaza and the destruction of extremism in the Gaza Strip.
Now, twenty days after the publication of that news, Israel is demolishing 40 residential buildings daily in its border strip with northern Gaza. The two newspapers Yediot Aharonot and Ma’ariv reported that the depth of this safe zone, which will be along the Gaza border, will be one to two kilometers or a little more.
OK; Let’s look back; Netanyahu’s advisor said, first, destroy Hamas, secondly disarm Gaza and thirdly destroy extremism and after these three steps, create a buffer zone. Now nearly eighty days have passed since the war. Hamas, which has not been destroyed, is still killing the Israeli army, and what is worse, Israel has not yet dominated any part of the Gaza Strip in a military sense.
On the other hand, Israel has started to create a buffer or safe zone around the Gaza Strip. Israeli media said on Saturday that Israeli tanks have started a ground operation from Karam Abu Salem crossing (south of Gaza) towards the “Philadelphia Axis” line. The axis of Philadelphia is a line that starts from the crossing of Karam Abu Salem, parallel to the border of Gaza with Egypt, and continues to the village of “Al Suwaydi” on the Mediterranean coast. According to the Tel Aviv-Cairo peace agreement and also after the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation from the Gaza Strip in 2005, it was decided to create a buffer strip on the border between Egypt and Gaza and be under the supervision of the Egyptian military or police to prevent the movement of Palestinians.