In the shadow of the hostage release deal, which will also include at least a four-day pause in the war, the Israel Defense Forces is discussing the operational adjustments that must be made to the new situation – and also the degree to which it will respond to cease-fire violations by Hamas or other terrorist operatives, if any.
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At the same time as the temporary halt ground maneuvers in the north of the Gaza Strip and the cessation of airstrikes, any threat detected against IDF forces will be attacked immediately to remove it.
The IDF will also implement the lessons learned from the humanitarian cease-fire in Operation Protective Edge in 2014, which was violated in Rafah on the day that many refer to as 'Black Friday,' when Maj. Beneya Sarel, Lt. Hadar Goldin and Sgt. Liel Gidoni were killed, and Goldin's body was captured. As part of this, the forces will remain on high alert and undertake proactive activities approved at the highest levels such as defensive patrols.
The military made it clear to the political echelon that it would be able to deal operationally with a halt to the ground operation for five days and even more. At this point, the IDF has not entered much of the territory of the Gaza Strip.
The deal is expected to be carried out in stages throughout the days of the cease-fire, with the possibility of stopping early on the one hand, or extending on the other hand, by both sides. According to estimates by security officials, the actual execution of the agreement will begin at the end of the week – exactly one month after the ground operation began.
IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari addressed the issue Tuesday evening in his statement to reporters. "We have a moral and ethical commitment to the safety of the hostages and to return them home to their families," he said. "Our hearts are with the hostages in Gaza - children, women, men and the elderly, including IDF soldiers, who were kidnapped by a cruel terrorist organization and are now being held in Gaza. We will do everything to return them as quickly as possible. We will know how to prepare for any matter on the ground as part of the deal and we will also know how to maintain the outline that will be agreed upon. The IDF will know how to abide by any agreement and maintain its military achievements. This is about a long war that has many, many stages."
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IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy and talks to reservists in Gaza
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
According to Hagari, "the goals of this war are to dismantle Hamas, return the hostages, build borders that will be safe for the citizens of the state of Israel and deter other threats in the region – these are the goals the IDF received from the political echelon and it intends to meet them. It will take time and there are stages. Therefore, even if now the goal of bringing the hostages is a significant goal, we will know how to return our operational achievements and also preserve what we achieved."
In answer to Ynet's question about the expected process regarding the return of the hostages, and whether they will be interrogated about what they went through in captivity, Hagari replied: "We learned from what happened in the past and from everyone who returned we added intelligence. The memory and knowledge served us very well, for example in the case of (rescued hostage) Ori Magidish. The information is at our disposal and we will use it. Once the outline of each and every hostage is realized, we will form a picture in order to put together this puzzle in relation to the hostages so that we can return everyone home."
The mechanism stipulated in the agreement is that in the first four days of the cease-fire, some 50 hostages – mothers, children and elderly women – will be released. It is not clear if young women are also included in the deal. After that, the plan is that more hostages will be released, with Hamas receiving three prisoners - youths and women - for every hostage it releases, and a day of respite for every 10. Also, according to the agreement, Israel will refrain from aerial activity in the Gaza Strip for six hours every day during the first days of the cease-fire when Hamas will try to locate the rest of the hostages, believed to be held by other terrorist organizations.