Israeli Broadcasting Corporation: The cost of occupying Gaza City exceeds $7 billion.

Arab Sea Newspaper - News Updates

Arab Sea - Follow-ups: The official Hebrew Broadcasting Corporation said that the cost of the expected Israeli operation to occupy Gaza City ranges between 20 and 25 billion shekels ($5.91 billion - $7.38 billion). The corporation pointed out that "the National Security Council and the Ministry of Finance in Israel have discussed in recent days the need to increase the defense budget in light of the operation." The Israeli government is expected to increase the defense budget and may make cuts in other ministries, according to the same source. The corporation said: "The Israeli army today recruited the largest batch of reserve soldiers, numbering more than thirty-five thousand soldiers, as part of preparations for Operation Chariots of Gideon 2 to occupy Gaza City." It pointed out that "in the coming weeks, about twenty-five thousand more reserve soldiers will join them, bringing the number of soldiers who will be recruited in preparation for the occupation of the city to 60,000." The corporation explained that "the Israeli army intends to replace the fighters of the Commando Brigade, who are deployed on the northern borders, with reserve soldiers." It added: "Therefore, with the exception of the fighters of the Paratroopers Brigade, who will remain in the West Bank, all the regular brigades of the Israeli army will participate in the intensive maneuver in Gaza." It continued: "In terms of timelines, after a short training period for the reserve soldiers, and a break for the regular soldiers - according to estimates - in about three weeks, the Israeli army will be ready to carry out Operation Chariots of Gideon 2 to occupy Gaza City." It added: "The regular brigades will be at the forefront, starting with the encirclement phase, then in the maneuvers inside the city, which Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu described as the last strongholds of Hamas, while the reserve soldiers will control the border area with the Gaza Strip." The corporation said: "The date of the ground maneuver, of course, depends on the evacuation of the residents of Gaza from the city, which is inhabited by about 800,000 people, and according to the latest estimates, only ten thousand of the city's residents have been evacuated so far." The corporation quoted unnamed Israeli security officials as saying that "the large-scale evacuation will not begin until Israel besieges the city, escalates its attacks, and reduces the entry of aid trucks into Gaza City." It pointed out that "the recruitment of reserves today came against the background of differences of opinion between the political leadership and the leaders of the security establishment, who expressed their desire to reach a deal." The corporation pointed out that "Israel is facing a new phase in the Gaza war, in one of the most controversial operations since the start of the war about two years ago." On August 18, Hamas approved a proposal from mediators regarding a partial deal for a ceasefire and exchange of prisoners in Gaza, but Israel did not respond to the mediators, despite the fact that its terms matched a previous proposal put forward by US envoy Steve Witkoff, which Tel Aviv had approved. Instead, Netanyahu is pushing for the occupation of Gaza City under the pretext of releasing prisoners and defeating Hamas, amid great skepticism about the possibility of achieving this by opponents and former officials, and the Israeli army's confirmation that the operation poses a danger to the lives of the prisoners. On Sunday, the Hebrew "Channel 12" revealed a secret internal document of the Israeli army in which it acknowledges the failure of Operation "Chariots of Gideon," which the Israeli army launched in the Gaza Strip between May 16 and August 6, to achieve its declared goals, foremost of which is defeating Hamas and returning the Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip. Tel Aviv estimates the presence of 48 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, 20 of whom are alive, while more than 10,800 Palestinians are languishing in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have been killed, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports. With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international appeals and orders from the International Court of Justice to stop it. The genocide has left 63,633 dead, 160,914 injured Palestinians, most of them children and women, more than 9,000 missing, hundreds of thousands of displaced people, and a famine that has killed 361 Palestinians, including 130 children. Source: "Anadolu Agency".