From Beirut to Gaza… A New Mission for Israel’s 36th Division

25th March 2025

3 minutes read

From Beirut to Gaza… A New Mission for Israel’s 36th Division

The Israeli army’s 36th Division is preparing to deploy to the Gaza Strip after completing its operations in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli army announced that “according to the situation assessment, forces of the 36th Division have begun preparations for operations in the Southern Command region,” meaning Gaza.

The army said: “In recent months, the division has completed an exercise in Lebanon, in addition to months of operational activities on the northern front.”

The Israeli army released a video showing about 20 tanks from the division deployed in the field, preparing for an incursion into the Gaza Strip.

The 36th Division is an Israeli armored division formed in 1954 and operates under the Northern Command of the Israeli army.

It is considered the largest active military formation in the Israeli army and includes the 188th and 7th armored brigades, the Golani infantry brigade, a reserve armored brigade, and the 609th reserve infantry brigade, along with artillery battalions 334, 405, and 411.

The Israeli news site Walla reported that “in the next maneuver, the Israeli army is expected to seize control of new areas in the Gaza Strip.”

It noted that “last Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz approved the continuation of the army’s operations in Gaza during a security assessment attended by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, stating: We are already seeing that military pressure is affecting Hamas’s position. We will not stop – until the hostages are released.”

Katz emphasized “the importance of maintaining military pressure on Hamas” and instructed the Israeli army to continue its intensive operations in Gaza until the objectives are achieved, primarily the release of the hostages.

These military movements coincide with the ongoing assassination of members of Hamas’s political bureau in Israeli strikes.

On Monday night, the death of Ismail Barhoum, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, was announced.

In a statement, the Israeli army said: “The IDF carried out a precision strike targeting a key Hamas operative who was in the Nasser Hospital area in Khan Younis.”

It added: “The operation was conducted following comprehensive intelligence work and with precise munitions to minimize collateral damage as much as possible.”

Local sources stated that Barhoum was receiving treatment at the hospital after recently being injured.

On Sunday, the Israeli army announced the death of Salah Bardawil, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, in an airstrike in southern Gaza.

Bardawil was reportedly praying when he was killed, along with two other Palestinians, in an Israeli airstrike.

On Friday, the Israeli army announced the death of Osama Tabash, the head of Hamas’s military intelligence in southern Gaza and director of its reconnaissance and targeting division.

On Thursday, the army reported the killing of Rashid Jahjuh, the head of Hamas’s General Security apparatus, and Ayman Asliha, the head of Khan Younis’s General Security division.

On Wednesday, it announced the death of Yasser Mohammed Harb Moussa, head of security within Hamas’s political bureau and director of the Development Office of the movement’s Executive Committee.

That same day, it reported the killing of Mohammed Jomassi, head of Hamas’s Emergency Committee in Gaza.

On Tuesday, the army confirmed the death of Issam Dib Abdullah Al-Da’alis, Hamas’s Prime Minister in Gaza.

The same day, it also announced the killing of Mahmoud Marzouk Ahmed Abu Toufa, Hamas’s Interior Minister, Bahjat Hassan Mohammed Abu Sultan, head of Hamas’s internal security, and Ahmed Omar Abdullah Al-Hetta, Hamas’s Justice Minister.