With President Donald Trump now in the White House,
analysts say Israel is operating with fewer constraints than before,
impacting its military approach and the war’s potential outcome.”It is all about Trump,”
a former senior Israeli official told Fox News Digital, “Netanyahu can
continue this war for another year. If Trump tells him in two weeks,
enough, now you have to go for a deal, he would.” The same source also
suggested that a new strategy is now being implemented: Dividing Gaza
into controlled corridors, with food and civilian movement under Israeli
military oversight, aiming to pressure Hamas.
John Spencer, Chair
of Urban Warfare Studies at West Point’s Modern War Institute, told Fox
News Digital, “The Trump administration, even before it was elected,
was very clear: release all the hostages,
including American citizens, or I will provide Israel everything it
needs to legally, lawfully, and within all international laws prosecute
its war against Hamas, with fewer constraints than the Biden
administration put on it.””The big variable at the higher level
is the status of civilian evacuations,” Spencer explained. “The United
States is now more open to encouraging nations to allow Gazans to
temporarily evacuate combat zones, which signals a shift in approach
under the Trump administration.”The collapse of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has reignited military operations in Gaza. Israel cited Hamas’ refusal to release hostages as
the reason for resuming attacks, while Hamas claimed that Israel failed
to uphold its commitments under the ceasefire agreement. Jonathan Conricus, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, highlighted Egypt’s role in
the evolving situation: “I think that this time around, Egypt will be
forced by the U.S. to open up the gate and allow Palestinians to flee
the battlefield. That is the right thing to do. It’s the humane thing to
do. It is the legal thing to do, and that is what Egypt must do,” he
said. He criticized Egyptian authorities for restricting Palestinian
movement, arguing that their policies have contributed to civilian
suffering.”For the first time, Israel will be able to use all
available weapons to decisively defeat Hamas,” Conricus, a former IDF
spokesman, told Fox News Digital.In a video statement on Tuesday,
Netanyahu thanked President Trump for his unwavering support of Israel,
“Our alliance with the United States has never been stronger,” he said.On the battlefield, Israel has expanded its targets beyond Hamas’ military infrastructure to its governmental network.”The
recent strikes, as Israel states, include quite a lot of the
governmental side of a terror organization,” Assaf Orion, a senior
fellow at the Washington Institute and INSS, told Fox News Digital.
However, he said, questions remain about what will follow if Hamas’
governance structure is dismantled.The hostage situation remains a
central issue. While the Israeli government argues that military action
is necessary to pressure Hamas into releasing captives, concerns about
hostage safety have sparked protests within Israel. Conricus told Fox
News Digital, “The risk to hostages has increased. Hamas may execute
some in retaliation for Israel’s renewed offensive, but the way I see
it, Israel had no choice but to resume military operations after two
weeks in which Hamas didn’t release any hostages. Honestly, I’m
surprised we’ve waited this long to act.”
Chief
of the General Staff LTG Eyal Zamir conducted a field tour in the Rafah
area of the Gaza Strip. He spoke with soldiers and was presented with
defensive preparations and operational plans. (IDF)
Orion
acknowledged the complexity of balancing military objectives with
hostage negotiations: “There is a clear tension between releasing the
hostages, which involves a deal, and eradicating Hamas, which involves
fighting. If the hostages are killed, that’s irreversible. An enduring
defeat to Hamas, we all understand, is a generational task,” he told Fox
News Digital.Whether Hamas can be fully defeated remains an open
question. Spencer believes it to be possible, saying, “Hamas is weaker
than ever, with its ability to hold territory and conduct organized
military operations severely diminished. However, Israel must commit to
holding the ground it clears, or Hamas could regroup and return.”