‘It is possible, necessary to conquer Gaza’: Ex-senior official lays out plan to defeat Hamas

Ex-IDF planning chief Erez Wiener says Israel should seize Gaza City, control aid, and relocate civilians, which he says will end the war in 100 days.

“It is possible to conquer Gaza, and it is necessary to conquer Gaza,” said Brig.-Gen. (res.) Erez Wiener, former aide to the IDF chief of staff and head of the operational planning team in the Southern Command, in a radio interview with Erel Segal and Eyal Berkovic on 103FM on Wednesday.

According to Wiener, the real number of residents in Gaza is 1.5 million, and to decisively end the campaign, three principles must be followed, the same principles that were relevant a year ago and remain so today.

Three principles for victory

“The first principle is full control over humanitarian aid – it is both feasible and achievable, and this was proven on a limited scale in the southern part of the Strip. It wasn’t expanded because certain elements in the IDF chose not to.”

“The second principle is the separation of the population from the terrorists. There’s no need to establish a humanitarian city to do this. There’s an excellent example – Yasser Abu Shabab – who currently governs 80,000 people, feeds them, and provides for them. I’m using someone who is currently cooperating with me, and there are about five or six others like him, different clans that are willing to do the same.”

“In addition, there’s a plan to set up camps for 5,000 to 20,000 Gazans who have been cleared of Hamas.”

“And all of this doesn’t cost the state a shekel. The money already exists. It has simply been channeled down the wrong paths. That money is currently being used to grease irrelevant organizations.”

“The third principle is to conquer Gaza City and evacuate the remaining population from there, because that’s where the last senior military commander left in the Strip is located – Izz al-Din al-Haddad. Once we deal with Gaza City, the entire Gaza Strip will remain between Nahal Oz and al-Mawasi, and under those conditions, the pressure isn’t on Israel; it’s on Gaza.”

Opposition within the IDF to the plan

Wiener also addressed reports of opposition within the IDF to the plan, particularly from the current chief of staff.

“The chief of staff says he thinks it’s a mistake and proposes a different plan, but the plan he’s proposing doesn’t offer a solution. That’s why my plan provides a solution – it addresses control over humanitarian aid, the removal of the population, the conquest of the territory, and I haven’t forgotten the hostages.”

“The plan provides the best possible solution for this. After all, there is no deal. Everyone understands there is no deal. It’s not true that they will return them in exchange for a ceasefire. We must not mislead the poor families — there is no such deal. Netanyahu has done so much, above and beyond, to reach a deal.”

Familiarity with the plan

Wiener also discussed the chief of staff’s prior familiarity with the conquest plan from his time as head of the Southern Command.

“He doesn’t just know it, he approved it. Before he was appointed chief of staff, he was familiar with the plan that was presented to Herzi Halevi and said it wasn’t aggressive enough. He requested the authority to design a new plan, one that is more offensive and more decisive. He received the approval, was in command, received a plan that was already prepared, reviewed it multiple times, approved it in full detail, and demanded a plan that would last a maximum of 90 to 100 days, and if possible, even less.”

Wiener added, “We will conquer Gaza City and relocate the remaining population from there.”

He also stressed that the funding for such a project exists. “The money exists, but it’s going to irrelevant organizations. The money is there – that’s not the problem,” he said.