The Israeli army is studying options to eliminate Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip as part of a plan aimed at avoiding the repetition of attacks like the October 7 attack in the future.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the idea of "expelling thousands of Hamas fighters from the Palestinian sector" is being discussed as a means to reduce the duration of the war.

Gaza Administration

These possibilities come as part of advanced talks between Israel and the United States about who will manage the Gaza Strip after the war ends, and what can be done to ensure the area is not used to launch new attacks on Israel, such as the attack that occurred on October 7.

One proposal put forward on how to manage Gaza after Hamas, developed by the Israeli army's research center and reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, involves creating "Hamas-free safe zones."

With the ongoing temporary ceasefire that began on Friday, there is so far no agreement between Israel, the United States, and Arab countries on key issues that could end the war, nor is there an agreement on who will manage the Gaza Strip or who will provide daily security for the millions living there.

One option being discussed by Israel and the United States is the proposal to force fighters of the "lower level" within Hamas to leave the Gaza Strip, aiming to prevent the movement from regaining power.

The Beirut Model

Before the war started, Israel estimated that Hamas had about 30,000 fighters in the Gaza Strip, and pledged after the war to kill senior Hamas leaders and any members who participated in the October 7 attacks.

According to the newspaper, determining how to deal with the large number of surviving fighters in Hamas and their families led to consideration of the "Beirut model."

In 1982, Israeli forces besieged Beirut in an attempt to weaken the power of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Lebanon.

The siege, which lasted two months, and the intense Israeli bombing of Beirut resulted in the US mediating an agreement to end the fighting and allow Yasser Arafat and about 11,000 Palestinian fighters to leave Lebanon for Tunisia.

According to the newspaper, leaving Gaza would be fundamentally different in the eyes of Palestinian fighters today compared to 1982 when they left Lebanon.

While fighters were visitors in Beirut, the Gaza Strip constitutes their home and part of the hoped-for independent Palestinian state.

A senior Israeli official said it is unclear whether Hamas fighters would choose the exile option if it were offered to them.