In early May, the Israeli cabinet approved a new military operation in Gaza. It was dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots.” The idea was that this new operation would be a break from the past.
After 500 days or more of fighting in which the IDF had often cleared areas, and then left them, only to return again, the new plan called for conquering most of Gaza.
Gideon’s Chariots was supposed to be a strong, decisive war of maneuver. It was described as a plan that would do away with the failures of more than a year of plodding war in Gaza.
The IDF, for instance, had gone into Khan Younis in December 2023 and then left in April. It had gone into Jabaliya in northern Gaza at least three or four times.
The IDF had claimed that around 12 Hamas battalions were dismantled in the first several months of the war.
By May, the assessment was that Hamas only had a few battalions left, mostly in Rafah and central Gaza.
Rafah was conquered between May and August 2024. However, Hamas remained in control of more than half of Gaza. Israel killed Yahya Sinwar, but didn’t exploit the killing to defeat Hamas.
What were the past developments between the IDF and Hamas?
By November, the IDF was slowly conquering Jabaliya, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya again. This time, the IDF set about razing most of these areas near the border.
But Hamas didn’t give up. They held on and waited for a ceasefire deal. The hostage deal of January 2025 was basically what Hamas had asked for since early 2024.
Hostages had been left in Gaza, not because there was any plan to free them or remove Hamas, but simply to wait while operations cleared and left areas.
It is unclear what was accomplished in Gaza operations in most of 2024.
When Israel refused to extend the ceasefire deal in March, the US tried to find ways to bridge it. The Trump administration had pushed the deal upon Israel in January. It had resulted in freeing women hostages, some elderly hostages, and others. National religious political parties opposed the deal.
When the war resumed in March, Israel cut off aid to Gaza, but the military operations in Gaza were still the same, slow, grinding movement as in 2024. Golani soldiers and other brigades moved into the Morag corridor in southern Gaza.
Hamas had to be removed, again, from Rafah, but it was weaker, and it took only a few weeks. By the time April was coming to a close, the IDF was entrenched again in the buffer zones of Gaza, part of the Netzarim corridor, and southern Gaza.
Israel's decision to come up with Gideon's Chariots
This is when the Israeli cabinet came up with Gideon’s Chariots. It was supposed to coincide with the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation initiative.
The US wanted aid to flow again after Israel had cut it off in March. Instead of leveraging the aid cut off to defeat Hamas, Hamas was left in power, and people were evacuated from half of Gaza and told to move to areas under Hamas control.
With so little achievement in Gaza, the Trump administration did move to get the last living US hostage, Eden Alexander, released. That was successful.
Israel also killed Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar. However, like with Yahya Sinwar, there was no decision to exploit his death and try to defeat Hamas.
On May 26, the GHF began delivering humanitarian aid. Gideon’s Chariots moved forward, but it consisted largely of razing some areas of Gaza and moving very slowly into a few neighborhoods in northern Gaza and Khan Younis.
In general, this is how the operation has remained. Now the question is whether things will change. Reports speak of an IDF that is dealing with many challenges.
The challenges the IDF faces
First of all, many reservists were called up for Gideon’s Chariots, and five divisions were sent to Gaza. However, they didn’t move quickly to defeat Hamas.
It seems one of the divisions left Gaza, and another, the 252nd, rotated out so that the 99th could rotate into Netzarim.
The IDF faces other challenges. Some units have had to deal with the large crowds trying to get to GHF food distribution points. GHF has its own security contractors and workers, but the IDF still has to deal with the sectors where crowds gather. Meanwhile, in Israel, there are other issues afoot.
The government has sought to continue to help Haredim avoid service, so that tens of thousands of young men don’t have to go to the army, while reservists go back and forth to Gaza.
In the West Bank, IDF soldiers are increasingly being attacked by Israeli citizens, creating an impossible situation there as well. The IDF is told it is fighting a multi-front war.
However, with Iran weakened and Hezbollah at the mercy of the Israeli Air Force, the ground forces' multi-front war looks different than before. Hamas still controls half of Gaza. It holds 50 hostages.
It loses commanders but doesn’t fall apart. It is killing and murdering Gazans who resist its rule, including various militias and tribes who oppose Hamas rule.
Much of Gaza is in ruins, and most of the people are displaced. The temporary help that GHF has accomplished by providing some 50 million meals is working, but it won’t go on forever.
Until Gideon’s Chariots are freed from the sands of Gaza, it’s unclear what will come next.