'Gideon's Chariots': IDF will hold Gaza

(JNS) — There will be no retreat from territory recaptured from Hamas in Gaza—not even as part of a hostage agreement, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday.

“This is a dramatic decision: Once the operation begins, there will be no withdrawal from land we conquer—not for any deal,” Smotrich said at the B’Sheva Jerusalem Conference. “The only way to free the hostages is to defeat Hamas. Any retreat would only invite the next Oct. 7.”

The minister spoke after a decision overnight by Israel’s Security Cabinet to significantly expand the IDF’s ground operation in Gaza. A political source from the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that the move authorizes the seizure and retention of territory in the Strip and, if needed, limited distribution of humanitarian aid in areas cleared of Hamas operatives.

The new IDF offensive to conquer the Gaza Strip has been codenamed “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,”

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar said the offensive marks a strategic shift.

“The goal is complete control of the Gaza Strip,” Zohar told Kan Reshet Bet radio. “This move does endanger the hostages—it doesn’t help them—but there is no other choice but to bring about a decisive outcome.”

Zohar said previous restraint was driven by a desire to maximize the return of hostages. Now, he added, “Hamas may soon realize it has no choice but to return the captives and remove itself from Gaza.”

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi backed the decision in a series of posts on X, calling it “a courageous first step toward total victory.”

“Control of the territory—not raids. Decisive victory, destruction of the enemy, and return of the hostages. Emigration—not illusions. Without hesitation. With power. With God’s help,” Karhi wrote.

Karhi also took aim at former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, blaming him for resisting calls early in the war to restrict aid to sterile zones, free of terrorist control. “Only uncompromising military and diplomatic pressure will defeat Hamas and free the hostages,” Karhi wrote. “We must destroy Hamas. We must maintain continuous, deep control—not temporary raids.”

Karhi emphasized that Israel should promote emigration from Gaza as a long-term solution: “The real and lasting answer will come only through the full advancement of the emigration plan—‘Force him until he says, I want it.’”

New Hope Party Knesset member Zeev Elkin told Kan radio that Hamas could still receive a short-term ceasefire in exchange for hostage releases, but warned that conditions on the ground are rapidly changing.

“Hamas should not assume the terms on the table now will remain in place later. Once we capture territory, there’s no guarantee we’ll withdraw,” Elkin said.

Zohar concluded his remarks with a warning to Israel’s enemies, referencing the Houthi missile strike on Sunday morning near Ben-Gurion Airport. “Anyone who collaborates with the Houthis will pay a price many times what Israel pays. We know how to hit hard—and that’s what we will do.”