On May 4, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved plans for a new offensive in Gaza. The multi-stage plan envisions the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) capturing and seizing territory in Gaza and staying for the long term. The approach contrasts with 2024 operations in which the Israeli military entered areas such as Khan Younis or Jabaliya and then left after weeks or months of fighting.
The new operation, Gideon’s Chariots, is expected to begin after President Donald Trump visits the Middle East in mid-May. This window gives Hamas the chance to agree to a hostage deal within the next week.
On May 7, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz met with members of the IDF’s 162nd Division to discuss the upcoming operation. The 162nd Division did much of the heavy lifting in Gaza between October 2023 and February 2025, serving 500 days on the front line.
Israel has sent out call-ups to reservists as it prepares for the new offensive. Reports say that tens of thousands of reservists are being called up, a fraction of the 300,000 who activated after Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023. Israeli reservists saw many months of service in 2024, straining the military system. Historically, they do not serve for more than several weeks a year.
“The operation is intended to defeat Hamas and bring about the release of all the hostages. We will operate with great force to destroy all of Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities,” Katz told the 162nd, according to a statement from his office. “The IDF will remain in any area that is conquered, and the entire Gazan population will be evacuated to areas in southern Gaza.”
Katz also noted that the plan allows for Hamas to accept the “Witkoff model,” which is the deal that US envoy Steven Witkoff proposed after the first phase of the January 2025 ceasefire ended in March. Katz said that when the new campaign begins, Israel “will not stop until all objectives are achieved.”
The new plan combines elements of Israel’s existing objectives in Gaza—freeing the hostages and defeating Hamas’ military and governance capabilities—with new initiatives. One initiative is the decision to evacuate the entire population of Gaza towards the southern portion of the territory. In the past, the IDF has asked Gazans to leave before Israeli forces raid various neighborhoods. This approach had the effect of displacing hundreds of thousands of people to a humanitarian zone near the coast. However, residents would often trickle back to their neighborhoods.
The new plan seeks to separate the civilians from Hamas, whereas in the past, the civilians always moved to areas that were under Hamas’s rule. A new humanitarian aid delivery mechanism is also part of the plan, with the goal of keeping aid from ending up in the hands of Hamas. A “sterile” area in southern Gaza between the Morag Corridor the IDF captured in March and the Rafah border with Egypt will be created.
Another significant element of the new plan is that the IDF will remain in portions of Gaza. Reports say the IDF intends to clear areas, as it did in Rafah, but then stay in them. In Rafah, parts of the city were razed to create a secure zone near the Egyptian border. It is not clear what entity will administer portions of Gaza that are freed from Hamas control. A Reuters report on May 7 indicated that the US could play a role in a “US-led administration for Gaza.”
As the IDF prepares for the new operation, the tempo of activity in Gaza has reduced since fighting began again on March 18. The last major strike the IDF announced in the territory was on March 4, when the Israeli Air Force targeted Hamas rocket launchers in Khan Younis. The IDF has been more active in targeting terrorists in Lebanon and carrying out retaliatory strikes on the Houthis in Yemen after a Houthi missile struck near Ben-Gurion International Airport on May 4.
