Why Israel will hold territory

(JNS) — “Territory.” It’s a magical word in the lexicon of anti-Israeli sentiment, always tied to terms like “occupation” and “colonialism.” Yet the international public lashing out about “territory” fails to understand what is truly unfolding in the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved an expanded military plan in Gaza. The guiding principle? Wherever the Israel Defense Forces capture territory, they will stay. This marks a return to a classic strategic doctrine: Territory must be held if a war is to be won. It also marks a rather different strategy than the endless advances and retreats that have defined the last 19 months of conflict.

The cabinet shift signals to Hamas that it risks losing territory if it continues with the war, something it has never faced before. Israel’s new plan will pursue three primary objectives: Force Hamas into surrender within isolated zones; sever it from its civilian human shields, a population it has cynically exploited to conceal operatives and weapons; and apply enough pressure to compel the release of hostages.

Israel intends to relocate a significant portion of the civilian population in Gaza to southern “humanitarian zones,” where food and other basic necessities will be supplied. Simultaneously, the siege is designed to push Hamas toward returning the hostages. The government believes that only through overwhelming military pressure will there be a window for negotiating the release of at least some hostages in exchange for a temporary ceasefire, possibly followed by resumed fighting.

This was the original idea that was suggested by Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy. It worked at the beginning of the Trump administration when several hostages were released. Since then, Hamas, no longer feeling threatened, has aimed to entrench itself in power indefinitely.

Israel cannot accept this status quo. It seeks both the return of the hostages and the dismantling of Hamas. That’s why it is trying a new approach while also addressing the humanitarian crisis. Until March, Israel allowed up to 600 aid trucks a day into Gaza, a number that far exceeded actual humanitarian needs. Yet much of that aid ended up in the hands of Hamas or armed gangs. Now, alongside the new campaign, Israel, together with the United States, is finalizing a new approach: distributing smaller, immediately usable aid parcels through private or international organizations. Aid that needs to be used immediately would prevent stockpiling by terrorist factions.

It will not be easy to return to Gaza while Israel’s young soldiers continue to fall. But this necessary operation will proceed in measured steps while Israel closely follows Trump’s upcoming Middle East tour. The president has expressed varied views on Gaza from warning that all hell will break loose if Hamas does not release the hostages to floating a reconstruction plan with a proposal to take direct control of the Strip and even voicing sympathy for the Palestinians saying that life in Gaza is “unbearable” and the people there need help.

Trump is expected to meet with Saudi leaders. How will that impact his views of Gaza and his broader Middle Eastern vision? How will this all tie into Trump’s promise to Israel that Iran will never develop a nuclear bomb, especially as U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations quietly progress? At the end of Trump’s visit, Israel will have to assess just how interconnected these plans truly are—and how much it must continue to rely solely on itself.

Meanwhile, in a surprising move, Trump invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the White House. Erdoğan — Israel’s staunch adversary and leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is a part — adds another complex piece to the puzzle. 

Though Trump continues bombing the Houthis, and explosions shake parts of Iran, Israel braces itself. The threat from Hamas, both near and far, remains the central battleground in this existential war for survival.