Reuters: Israel is Determined to Achieve its 'Strategic Goals' Before the US Elections

The killing of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas and mastermind behind the attack that ignited the war in Gaza, is seen as a significant victory for Israel. Now, informed sources say Israeli leaders are also seeking to achieve further strategic gains beyond military victories to ensure a regional landscape favorable to Israel and protect its borders against any future attacks. Eight informed sources told Reuters that with the US elections approaching, Israel is in a hurry to inflict maximum damage on Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, trying to create irreversible conditions before a new US president takes office in January. According to Western diplomats, Lebanese and Israeli officials, and other regional sources, Israel aims to ensure that its enemies and their main supporter, the Islamic Republic, cannot regroup and threaten Israeli citizens again by intensifying its military operations against Hezbollah and Hamas. The Reuters report states that it is expected that Joe Biden, the US president, will use the killing of Sinwar to increase pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to end the war in Gaza. However, the Israeli leader may prefer to wait until Biden's presidency ends and test his luck with the next president, whether it be Democratic candidate Kamala Harris or his close Republican rival Donald Trump. Israel is accelerating its military operations to push Hezbollah back from its northern border before considering any ceasefire agreement; an action that Palestinians and UN agencies claim may be an attempt to separate northern Gaza from the rest of the areas. Israel is also planning to respond to the barrage of ballistic missiles from the Islamic Republic on October 1st. This is considered the second direct attack by the Islamic Republic on Israel in the past six months. David Schenker, a former US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and now a senior member of the Washington Institute, stated, 'There is a new outlook, a new geopolitical shift in the region.' Schenker noted that before the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 of last year, Israel's intention was to 'have the capacity to endure a high-level threat' and respond with limited attacks to rocket fire from Palestinian militants, but 'that is no longer the case.' He said, 'This time, Israel is fighting on many fronts. Hamas, Hezbollah, and soon Iran.' Following the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the hostage-taking of over 250 others, Israel launched an invasion of Gaza aimed at destroying this Islamic Republic-backed group and retrieving the hostages. During negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt last fall, over 100 kidnapped hostages were released, but several Israeli hostages remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza. Officials from the Iran-backed Hamas group have repeatedly emphasized since the October 7 terrorist attack that they will carry out similar attacks as often as they can. Hamas claims that over 40,000 Palestinians residing in Gaza have been killed without mentioning the number of its own members killed as a result of the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields. The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, Israel, and several other countries have listed Hamas as a terrorist organization. On Thursday, October 18, Netanyahu stated in a statement that Sinwar's death 'settled accounts' but warned that the war in Gaza would continue with full force until the Israeli hostages are returned. His office stated that there was nothing to add to these remarks. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli army spokesman, also stated that the removal of Sinwar is a 'great achievement' in the effort to destroy Hamas's military apparatus, but added that other commanders still remain in Gaza. Israeli forces have inflicted significant blows on their enemies. Senior Hamas leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, and Mohammed Deif, the head of its military branch, as well as Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, and Fawad Shukr, a senior military commander of Hezbollah, have been eliminated in a series of attacks. Israel also claims to have destroyed thousands of fighters from these groups, seized their deep tunnel networks under Gaza, and emptied their arsenals. Last month, thousands of bomb-laden communication devices belonging to Hezbollah members exploded - an attack that Israel neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for. However, informed sources indicate that Israel's ambitions are broader than short-term military victories - albeit significant. The Israeli ground assault that began last month in Lebanon aims to push Hezbollah back from the northern border and ensure the complete disarmament of this Shiite militia group after 30 years of military support from the Iranian government. Israeli officials argue that they are implementing a UN resolution aimed at maintaining peace in the region and protecting its residents from cross-border attacks. Resolution 1701, passed in the summer of 2006 following the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah, tasked UN peacekeeping forces (UNIFIL) with assisting the Lebanese army in maintaining the southern border area with Israel and keeping it free of any weapons or armed forces other than the Lebanese state forces. Israel's complaint is that these two forces have never taken control of the area from Hezbollah - which has long been recognized as Lebanon's strongest military force. Hezbollah, citing the need to defend Lebanon against Israel, has resisted disarmament and since last year, fighters from this group have used the border strip as a base for almost daily exchanges of fire with Israel, in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. Israeli officials state that the only way to implement Resolution 1701 and ensure the safe return of about 60,000 Israeli citizens who have been evacuated from northern Israel is through military action. An Israeli diplomatic source told Reuters that currently, diplomacy is insufficient. Lebanese officials say that the assault against Hezbollah has displaced over 1.2 million people - mostly members of the Shiite community supported by Hezbollah - in Lebanon. Israel has also faced international criticism due to incidents where its forces fired at UN positions, injuring several peacekeepers. A Lebanese security official familiar with the situation in southern Lebanon stated that it seems Israel wants to remove UNIFIL along with Hezbollah from this area: 'Their goal is to cleanse this buffer zone.' On Monday, October 23, Netanyahu denied allegations of deliberately targeting peacekeeping forces by Israeli troops but stated that the best way to ensure their safety is to heed calls for a temporary withdrawal from combat zones. The United Nations has stated that its peacekeeping forces will not leave their positions in southern Lebanon. UN representatives, the United States, and other diplomatic representatives agree that reviving Resolution 1701 could provide a basis for halting hostilities, but better execution mechanisms are needed, and any changes to UNIFIL's mandate must be approved by the 15 members of the Security Council, and according to diplomats, there is currently no such agenda. Najib Mikati, the caretaker prime minister of Lebanon, stated that the government is ready to deploy its forces to implement Resolution 1701 as soon as a ceasefire is established, and the United States and France have emphasized the need to strengthen the Lebanese army in this regard. According to this diplomat, convincing the Islamic Republic will also be important. However, it seems Israel is not ready to negotiate a ceasefire. 'They want to take advantage of their position and be in a stronger position for negotiations.' Last year, Israel informed several Arab countries that it wanted to create a buffer zone on the Palestinian side of the Gaza border. However, the depth of this zone and how it will be implemented after the war is currently unclear. Israel's ongoing assault on the Jabalia area has raised concerns among Palestinians and UN agencies that Israel intends to cleanse the residents of northern Gaza. The Israeli army denies this, stating that it is only trying to prevent the reorganization of Hamas fighters. Israeli forces entered the Philadelphi Corridor in June 2024. This area is a strip along the southern border of Gaza with Egypt that allows Israel to effectively control all land borders of Palestinian territories. Israel has stated that it will not agree to a permanent ceasefire without guarantees that it can control this area to prevent the smuggling of weapons and equipment to Hamas. On the other hand, the Iranian government is under Israeli scrutiny following the recent missile attack that was a retaliation for Israeli attacks against the Islamic Republic and its proxies. The Middle East is concerned about Israel's response, as this action could disrupt oil markets and ignite a full-scale war in the region. Yoav Gallant, Israel's defense minister, stated last week that Israel's response would be 'deadly, precise, and most importantly, unexpected.' The Islamic Republic has also repeatedly warned that it will not hesitate to take military action in retaliation against Israel. The United States, Israel's main arms supplier, has supported actions against Iranian-backed targets such as Hezbollah and Hamas, but tensions between the US and Israel have increased due to US officials' insistence on convincing Israel to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza, restrain airstrikes on residential areas, and negotiate a ceasefire. Biden's efforts to engage with the Islamic Republic through indirect talks about restoring the 'JCPOA' and his opposition to any attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities have also been points of tension. Israel considers the Iranian government's nuclear program an existential threat. Currently, it seems Netanyahu is determined to redraw the map around Israel in its favor by cleansing Israel's enemies from its borders.