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Israel has drawn up plans for a new ground operation in parts of Gaza controlled by the Palestinian armed group Hamas, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing informed sources.
Gaza is currently split fifty-fifty between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas, in line with US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace roadmap, which envisions the Palestinian fighters disarming and Israel pulling out of the 141 square mile (365 square kilometer) enclave.
It is the unwillingness of Hamas to fulfill its pledge to lay down arms that could prompt West Jerusalem to launch a new attack in Gaza, the outlet said in an article on Saturday.
According to Arab officials who spoke with the WSJ, Hamas is only ready to give up its heavy weapons, but not its small arms. Israel estimates that the group currently has around 60,000 rifles.
Hamas said last month that it remains committed to the ceasefire despite “repeated Israeli violations.” However, it insisted that it would not surrender its weapons “as long as the occupation remains.”
The Palestinian group has been busy restoring its military capabilities since the conflict, including rebuilding parts of its damaged tunnel infrastructure, Arab and Israeli officials claimed. Hamas has also received a new influx of cash to pay salaries to its fighters, they added.
The Israeli officials told the WSJ that there are no immediate plans for the IDF to move into Hamas-held parts of Gaza, as West Jerusalem is willing to wait for Trump’s peace plan to make progress.
The US president said in late December that the Palestinian group will be given “a very short period of time to disarm” and if they fail to do so, “then there’ll be hell to pay for them.”
West Jerusalem launched its military operation in Gaza in October 2023 in response to a deadly Hamas assault on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people lost their lives and more than 250 were taken hostage. Over 71,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave and more than 171,000 have been injured, according to local health authorities.
