Closing border crossings, freezing talks: Tel Aviv’s plan for Hamas in the coming days

Israel’s political and military establishment is considering several measures to accelerate the handover of prisoners’ bodies, including transferring intelligence to Israel about their locations in Gaza.

Among the steps Israel could take are several options, all of which were discussed in the signed agreement, according to the Hebrew site Walla.

Tel Aviv plans an immediate reduction, up to a complete halt, of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, including fuel and food. In addition, there will be no partial agreement, and certainly no implementation of the advanced stages of the deal.

Closing the crossings:

Tel Aviv plans to completely close the Rafah crossing to all movement, depriving Hamas of the “freedom of movement” it sought to achieve through the agreement (phase one: exit from the Gaza Strip; phase two: entry into the Strip from Egypt).

Intensifying military pressure (which is more effective at this stage than ever): increasing targeted military activity, including strikes on Hamas targets in areas that allow for delay, with the aim of raising the immediate cost of the group’s control. At this stage, only those who threaten forces on the “yellow line” are attacked.

Freezing future talks: announcing a complete freeze of any future talks on additional stages of the hostage deal.

Diplomatic demands: unprecedented pressure on mediators (the United States, Qatar and Egypt) to ensure that delays are costly for Hamas, including the threat of canceling any diplomatic progress with those countries.

Estimates in Israel indicate that the coming days will determine whether the situation is about to explode, or whether pressure from all parties will strengthen implementation of phase (A) of the agreement, with the top priority being the return of the hostages to Israel.

A security source familiar with the developments added that “the process of returning living prisoners and bodies is taking place in stages. If Hamas does not fulfill its commitment to return all prisoners, there will be no progress.”

According to sources in the Southern Command, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) referred a recommendation to the political leadership to impose sanctions on Hamas after its delay in moving the abducted civilians.

Walla reported that the General Staff recommended stopping all preparations at the Rafah crossing and significantly reducing the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing. The political leadership rejected these recommendations and preferred to adopt a flexible approach politically and diplomatically before imposing sanctions.