Israeli Army Expects Calm in Gaza to Last for Years

An Israeli soldier uses a weapon amid clashes with Palestinians in the West Bank. Reuters file photo
An Israeli soldier uses a weapon amid clashes with Palestinians in the West Bank. Reuters file photo
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Israeli Army Expects Calm in Gaza to Last for Years

An Israeli soldier uses a weapon amid clashes with Palestinians in the West Bank. Reuters file photo
An Israeli soldier uses a weapon amid clashes with Palestinians in the West Bank. Reuters file photo

The Israeli military believes that calm achieved in the Gaza Strip after the last round of fighting is estimated to last for a long time due to the Israeli army’s capacity to deter attacks from both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.

A report by Israel’s Kan 11 channel said that these estimates are based on several factors, including Israel’s deterrence capacities, Hamas’ political and economic calculations in the Strip, and the Israeli army’s success in separating the Islamic Jihad from Hamas.

The report said the Army Chief of Staff, Aviv Kohavi, believes that his forces were capable of deterring Hamas during the May 2021 war, and also the Islamic Jihad following the three-day clashes that began on August 5.

Israel had then killed 49 Palestinians, including leaders in the Islamic Jihad’s affiliated al-Quds Brigades, in addition to children and women.

According to Israeli security assessments, the May 2021 war on the Gaza Strip offered economic facilities that helped Gaza's economy grow.

Hamas reportedly fears losing these civil and economic services, which Israel is now offering to Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Israel was capable of deterring the Islamic Jihad during the last round of clashes this month because the group was operating without Hamas.

Senior military and security officials said that the calm recently established in Gaza will last for a long time because Hamas is aware it will lose economic facilities in the event of a confrontation with Israel and because the Islamic Jihad will not engage in another battle without direct support from Hamas.

The Israeli channel quoted Kochavi as saying that Hamas is currently deterred from engaging in a new war with Israel while the chances of the Islamic Jihad’s acting alone against the Israeli army have become weak.

“Hamas is deterred, and we have struck the Islamic Jihad in the West Bank and Gaza,” Kochavi said, recalling that Israel launched several attacks on the Jihad’s structure in the West Bank, including the arrest of its officials and the killing of its armed members.

In a previous statement, Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev said that one of the Israeli military’s achievements during the recent military operation in the Gaza Strip is that Hamas decided not to join the fight alongside the Islamic Jihad.

He explained that Hamas’ decision is mainly due to economic reasons as the Movement desires to keep 15,000 Palestinian workers from Gaza from entering Israel daily.

Early this month, the Israeli military launched airstrikes against targets inside Gaza during which it killed Taysir al-Jabari, a top Islamic Jihad leader, and Khaled Mansour, the Islamic Jihad commander for southern Gaza.



Hamas: Israel's Claim on Hostages' Handover Ceremony is Pretext to Evade Obligations

Fighters from Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades escort Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov before handing him over to the Red Cross in Al Nusairat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 22 February, 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Fighters from Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades escort Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov before handing him over to the Red Cross in Al Nusairat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 22 February, 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Hamas: Israel's Claim on Hostages' Handover Ceremony is Pretext to Evade Obligations

Fighters from Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades escort Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov before handing him over to the Red Cross in Al Nusairat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 22 February, 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Fighters from Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades escort Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov before handing him over to the Red Cross in Al Nusairat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 22 February, 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Hamas on Sunday condemned Israel's decision to postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, saying its claim that the hostages' handover ceremonies are "humiliating" was false and a pretext to evade Israel's obligations under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Netanyahu's decision reflects a deliberate attempt to disrupt the agreement, represents a clear violation of its terms, and shows the occupation's lack of reliability in implementing its obligations," Ezzat El Rashq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in a statement.

Israel said earlier it was delaying the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners it had planned to free the day before until Hamas met its conditions, underscoring the fragility of the Gaza ceasefire accord.

Netanyahu's office released a statement in the early hours of Sunday saying that Israel was waiting to deliver the 620 Palestinian prisoners and detainees "until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies."

According to Reuters, Hamas' El Rashq said the ceremonies do not include any insult to the hostages, "but rather reflect the humane and dignified treatment of them,” adding that the "real insult" is what the Palestinian prisoners are subjected to during the release process.

The Palestinian militant group official cited the hands' tying of the Palestinian prisoners and detainees and their blindfolding and threatening them not to hold any celebrations for their release as examples of their humiliation at the hands of Israeli authorities.

Hamas has made hostages appear on stage in front of crowds and sometimes speak before they were handed over. Coffins with hostage remains have also been carried through crowds.

Israel's announcement, which also accused Hamas of repeatedly violating the month-old ceasefire, came after the Palestinian militant group on Saturday handed over six hostages from Gaza as part of an exchange arranged under the truce.