The Israeli government on May 5 unveiled a new military plan for the Gaza Strip, an operation forebodingly dubbed "Gideon's Chariots" (Merkavot Gideon) after an Old Testament conqueror [11]. Approved unanimously by the security cabinet, the plan calls for the "conquering of Gaza" and retaining the territory indefinitely, an official said. The plan also includes concentrating the Palestinian civilian population in a "sterile area" in the south of the Strip. The official said Israel will give Hamas until the end of US President Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East, which is 10 days from now, to agree to a hostage deal. Otherwise, "Operation Gideon's Chariots will begin with great force and will not end until all its objectives are achieved." The military is already calling up tens of thousands of reservists in preparation for the new operation. (TNA [13], ToI [14], TML [15], JNS [16], DW [17], BBC News [18])
The official government spokesperson David Mencer said the plan calls for "the expanding and holding of territories—not occupation—the expanding and holding of territories and remaining in them to prevent Hamas from taking it [sic] back." However, hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich [19] stated: "We are finally going to conquer the Gaza Strip. We will stop being afraid of the word 'occupation.'" He added that there would be no withdrawal, even in exchange for the hostages. (NewsHour [20], ToI [21], MEE [22], Viory [23])
See our last reports on the "transfer [24]" plan, genocidal rhetoric [25] from Israeli officials, and genocide accusations [26] against Israel.
