The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced the start of a new military operation in the Gaza Strip overnight, initiating what appears to be the opening phase of a planned assault on Gaza City. The military stated it has begun “preliminary operations” to occupy the territory, with troops reportedly taking control of the city’s outskirts and continuing to advance under a relentless barrage of airstrikes and artillery fire from the Israeli military.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified that even if Hamas agrees to a ceasefire deal, Israel will still take control of the enclave. “We will do it. There was never any doubt that we would not leave Hamas there,” he stated before visiting the IDF’s Gaza Division to bless the invasion. He raised the stakes on negotiations with Hamas, demanding “immediate talks” for “the release of all hostages” and to “end the war under conditions acceptable to Israel.”
Residents of Gaza City described a night of incessant bombardment. “The house shook with us. The noise of the explosions, the artillery, the warplanes, the ambulances, and the cries for help are killing us,” one resident told AFP.
The IDF has warned hospitals and humanitarian organizations in the northern Strip to prepare for the evacuation of civilians to the south—a directive firmly rejected by the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry warned such a measure “would deprive more than a million people of the right to medical care and expose the lives of residents, patients, and the wounded to imminent danger.”
International calls to avoid escalation, including from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who said Netanyahu’s plan “will only worsen the already dramatic humanitarian situation,” have gone unheeded. A Guardian investigation alleging the IDF is well aware that five out of six Palestinians killed in Gaza are civilians was strongly denied by the Israeli army, which accused the paper of using flawed data and lacking “basic military understanding.”
The war continues to claim lives, with over 40 killed in less than 24 hours, as does starvation, which has now killed a total of 271 people—including 112 children. Facing this reality, the international community—from the UN to the Red Cross—repeats its mantra-like appeals for a ceasefire and a truce agreement.
A ceasefire, however, remains distant. After days of diplomatic silence, Netanyahu responded to Hamas’s acceptance of the latest truce proposal with a hardline stance, restarting negotiations only for the release of all captives and the surrender of Hamas. “This war could end today if Hamas lays down its arms and releases the remaining 50 hostages,” said the Prime Minister, asserting his government’s goal is not “to occupy Gaza, but to liberate it from the tyranny” of Palestinian militants. “And I think we are close to achieving this.”
Meanwhile, international protests continue over Israel’s decision to authorize new settlements in the E1 area of the West Bank, a move critics say aims to erase any prospect of a two-state solution. Twenty-one countries, including the UK, France, Australia, Canada, and Italy, issued a joint statement declaring the new settlements “unacceptable and a violation of international law,” and demanded their “immediate revocation with the utmost firmness.” The UK has summoned the Israeli ambassador to formally protest its recent decisions.
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