The Israeli army expects that about 200,000 Palestinians of the population of nearly one million will remain in Gaza City even as Israel presses an offensive to seize control of the capital, and a total takeover and razing of the city could be a lengthy process, says Lorenzo Kamel, an international relations lecturer at the University of Turin.

“A few officials in the Israeli army also pointed out that the demolition of Gaza City, above and below the ground, like it happened in [the levelled Gaza Cities of] Beit Hanoon and Rafah, could take months, if not more than a year,” he told Al Jazeera.

“[But] regardless of whether Hamas surrenders or not, [far right Israeli Minister Bezalel] Smotrich and other Israeli Ministers reiterated that Israel’s goal – the so-called voluntary mass expulsion and the permanent occupation of Gaza – won’t change,” he added.

“It’s quite easy to be very bold like Smotrich when you receive $13bn of weapons from Washington. Without those weapons, figures like Smotrich would be much more humble.”