Gaza City occupation will not force Hamas into submission: Israeli army
Iran Press TV
Thursday, 04 September 2025 5:15 PM
The Israeli army has expressed doubt over how effective the planned assault to occupy Gaza City will be in terms of forcing Hamas resistance into submission across the besieged Palestinian territory.
Israel's broadcaster KAN on Thursday reported that an army representative addressed a closed-door panel of the Knesset's (parliament) war committee a day earlier.
"Why would the occupation of Gaza City cause Hamas to budge at all? I did not say it would move Hamas; it is not certain at all. The city has symbolic significance," he told the committee.
The army representative also informed the panel that around 800,000 Palestinians reside in Gaza City.
The Israeli reports have also revealed heavy tensions between the Israeli regime and army chief Eyal Zamir, who went to great lengths pressing Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the danger the occupation plan poses to the captives held by resistance groups in the blockaded Palestinian territory.
Zamir also told Netanyahu that the onslaught will put further unnecessary strain on Israeli troops.
A recent Israeli military investigation has found a rise in suicides among its soldiers, with the majority of the cases being directly linked to the profound psychological trauma and exposure to extreme conditions experienced during the war in Gaza.
The findings indicated that most suicides stemmed from prolonged exposure to combat, traumatic battlefield experiences, and the psychological toll of losing comrades.
Despite attempts by the Israeli army to censor reports of suicides and the surrounding circumstances, evidence continues to emerge of a sharp increase in such cases. Media outlets have suggested that the actual number of suicides may be even higher than reported.
The Israeli military is poised to advance on Gaza City, the largest urban center in the area, despite global appeals urging Israel to reassess this action due to concerns that it may result in substantial casualties and displace approximately one million Palestinians currently seeking refuge there.
Zamir previously called on the regime to accept an exchange and ceasefire deal.
Israel has rejected a new proposal to end its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip under a ceasefire deal with the Hamas resistance group, threatening to flatten Gaza City like other areas in the besieged Palestinian territory.
On Wednesday, Hamas said it was willing "to enter into a comprehensive deal in which all enemy captives held by the resistance will be freed in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners held by the occupation."
The resistance group also called for an agreement that stops the Israeli aggression in Gaza, ensures the withdrawal of all occupation forces from the territory, and reopens its crossings.
The Tel Aviv regime dismissed the proposal on Wednesday, hours after Hamas stressed its readiness to enter a comprehensive deal.
The Israeli regime's so-called "security cabinet" voted on August 8 for an illegal plan to occupy Gaza City and launch a ground assault there. Since then, about 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza City alone.
Since Thursday morning, more than 60 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across the besieged territory, including 31 in Gaza City.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, several people have lost their lives due to malnutrition in the past day. That brings the total number of starvation deaths to 370.
Overall, the death toll from the genocide since October 2023 has topped 64,200. Around 161,600 people have been injured.
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