‘Hamas is already confined to an enclave, and this is what needs to be done to subdue it’.

By Hezy Laing

In an interview with the Hebrew TOV News Network, Brigadier General Erez Wiener, former commander of the Southern Command’s planning department, presented an operational model for ending Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip, emphasizing a strategic change in the transition from military control to civilian control.

According to Weiner, the absence of Israeli hostages in the Strip allows the IDF to operate much more flexibly.

Israel, he says must implement three basic principles: separating control of humanitarian resources from Hamas, isolating the civilian population from the terror organization, and establishing full control over the remaining territory.

Wiener emphasizes that the key lies in the “humanitarian islands plan,” a premise proposed by the government a long time ago, but still not fully implemented by the military.

To achieve this he proposes dividing the Strip into three regions and using a triple siege method on a given section: the evacuation of the civilian population from it, the cessation of civilian aid to that area, and gradual progress destroying the terrorist infrastructure within it.

A combination of targeted military pressure along with the encouragement of voluntary migration through the Rafah crossing, he says, will ultimately lead to the complete dismantling of Hamas rule and the collapse of its military capabilities.

After the IDF takes military control, he proposes the use of an international force, as per Article 17 of the plan, to manage civilian life in the area.

“This is the time to start and do it,” concludes Wiener, with the aim of reaching a reality in which there is an end to Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip.