Miguel Afonso Caetano<p>"The IDF believes that it will largely be facing a raft of small cells of well-prepared guerrilla fighters. This means more of the enemy, more explosives, more anti-tank missiles and more sniper fire, all within a densely populated area. Under these new conditions, the danger to the hostages' lives is clear.</p><p>According to senior IDF officials, some members of the security cabinet demanded a replication of the destruction of the city of Beit Hanoun northeast of Gaza City and across from the Israeli city of Sderot. The army rendered Beit Hanoun uninhabitable, destroying all the buildings.</p><p>Officials told Haaretz that this demand has implications for the duration of the fighting and the troop levels required. Unlike Beit Hanoun, Gaza City has tall and densely packed buildings, and demolishing multistory structures requires much greater force and stronger equipment. It's not yet clear if the army is up to the task.</p><p>The implications are clear: Despite Zamir's efforts to avoid a major operation, 100,000 reservists will have to be called up, topping the security cabinet's limit set for this year."</p><p><a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-08-13/ty-article-magazine/.premium/guerrilla-fighters-and-1-2-residents-what-awaits-israeli-soldiers-occupying-gaza-city/00000198-a2da-d539-a5b8-ffdb40f20000" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-0</span><span class="invisible">8-13/ty-article-magazine/.premium/guerrilla-fighters-and-1-2-residents-what-awaits-israeli-soldiers-occupying-gaza-city/00000198-a2da-d539-a5b8-ffdb40f20000</span></a></p><p><a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Israel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Israel</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Palestine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Palestine</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Gaza" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Gaza</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/EthnicCleansing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EthnicCleansing</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Hamas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Hamas</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/GazaCity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GazaCity</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Genocide" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Genocide</span></a></p>