I guess they want to clear a standoff zone, to keep tunnel entrances a certain distance from the border.
I keep waiting for a decisive strike against Hamas, but perhaps they don’t intend to depose them.
On the other hand, maybe they assess that they have will have the time they need to be deliberate, and to conserve the lives of their soldiers. So maybe they will shape the future battlefield now by clearing fields back from the border, and take out Hamas afterward.
I always think that Israeli operations will be shut down prematurely from political pressure, and that they need to quickly shape the future situation during any brief period of war. So I am looking for an old school Israeli bold stroke against Hamas, rather than a grind.
I don’t see the border tunnels as Hamas’ center of gravity, but rather their financing, domestic popularity and ability to suppress domestic opposition.
They must largely be disarmed, disgraced and impoverished; if they can not be militarily crushed and imprisoned outright. It is going to be hard if they are left in power.
I’d like to see Egypt step up and help crush Hamas with Israel. We’ll see.