Asia

Home page

Asia

US expects Israel to destroy Hamas: Former IDF commander

19 October 2023 14:07 (UTC +04:00)

Maj. Gen. (res.) Gadi Shamni, a former commander of the IDF’s Gaza Division and former military attaché in the United States, tells Channel 12 that “the United States is expecting us to destroy Hamas,” APA reports citing The Times of Israel.

What’s more, says Shamni, even if there weren’t an American green light, Israel must not end this war until “Hamas is utterly beaten… and Gaza demilitarized.” By the end, all the hostages must be returned, and Israel must determine the conditions for Gaza’s reconstruction, possibly with a return of Palestinian Authority rule there, he says.

The mission will last 6-8 months, he predicts. “Conquering Gaza, taking control of Gaza… will take a few weeks.” Then Israel will have to kill and capture Hamas’s armed forces. “Thousands will have to be jailed in the Negev to serve as bargaining chips” for the over 200 captives Hamas holds hostage.

“If Israel were to free [Palestinian security prisoners] as Hamas wants, that would be a defeat for Israel. It would merely invite further attacks.”

“So there is no choice. People who talk of other options, to do it all from the air” are mistaken, he says. Airstrikes are important, but ultimately the ground forces have to go in.

Shamni says the IDF is capable of acting simultaneously on the northern front against Hezbollah if needed, and controlling the West Bank. Ultimately, he adds, Hezbollah must be pushed back from its positions at the northern border. “That too we will have to solve by force,” he says, since diplomacy won’t push Hezbollah back.