Israeli security officials: The army is unable to free prisoners in Gaza.

Israeli security officials, both military and intelligence, reported Sunday that the Israeli military realizes it cannot free Israeli prisoners by expanding the war on Gaza. Because of the high cost associated with establishing military rule in the Strip, some within the military leadership doubt the feasibility of achieving Israel's second goal in the war, which is to defeat Hamas, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

The newspaper added, "The Israeli army is caught in a trap. On one side, there is the public, which doesn't understand why and why the war has resumed, just as the army itself is having difficulty understanding what the army is doing and where it is headed with this move. On the other side, there are the families of the kidnapped soldiers, who believe there is danger in this move, not hope."

On the third side, the newspaper continued, "the political echelon, i.e. the prime minister and the defense minister, has suddenly become generous, giving unlimited credit to the army, which initiated and planned (the expansion of the war). All of this is so that (the political echelon) can hold it (the army) accountable when everything collapses. In the process, it adds to the plan, as if it came from the army, goals that are in stark contrast to the goals of the war and the laws of war, in words that create extremely grave risks for army officers."

The newspaper noted that "the army's most difficult trap may be its own. It has been fighting for a year and a half and has failed to defeat Hamas. Moreover, the army, under its new leadership, feels obligated to try to find a solution and do something, and has found itself in a creeping occupation of the Gaza Strip."

The newspaper quoted senior Israeli security sources as saying, "The army cannot retreat, because if it does, it will appear to its officers as if it has surrendered and given up the fight without achieving any of its objectives. It also cannot remain in the same place, because an army that remains in the same place facing terrorist nests will be targeted and will suffer casualties. Therefore, we are left with the only option, which is to advance."

According to the newspaper, "progressing forward will eventually lead Israel to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, and many, if not most, senior officers do not believe this is good for state security."

The General Staff's assessment, based on intelligence and analysis of operations conducted by the Air Force and the Military Operations Planning Brigade, according to the newspaper, is that "similar to similar steps in the West Bank, the army will have to remain there for years. In Gaza, there are many tunnels and fortifications. This requires complete control of the field, with massive forces, long axes for transporting logistical needs, and the need to replace forces with fresh ones. With the exhaustion that everyone sees in the reserve forces, it is not certain that this is something that can be advanced for a long time."

A senior security source stated, "The army believes that in the most optimistic scenario, we will eventually return to square one, where the political leadership will be forced to choose between occupying the Gaza Strip or the kidnapped soldiers."

According to the newspaper, an Israeli intelligence official reported that the army told the political echelon that "if you want to return the kidnapped soldiers alive, there is no alternative but to negotiate with Hamas and reach an agreement."