Israel launched a new devastating ground offensive in Gaza over the weekend just as US President Donald Trump departed the region without sealing a ceasefire and hostage deal. <\/p>\n
The Israeli military said its forces moved into northern and southern Gaza over the past day as part of the \u201cGideon\u2019s Chariots\u201d operation, which Israel warned would take place if Hamas doesn\u2019t agree to a new hostage deal on its terms. <\/p>\n
The ground operation came after days of heavy airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, which according to health authorities there have wiped out entire families. <\/p>\n
Israel says it will allow a \u201cbasic amount of food\u201d into the besieged enclave, a move which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted was due to intense pressure from Israel\u2019s allies. Hamas and Israel also began indirect talks in the Qatari capital Doha on Saturday. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what we know about Israel\u2019s new offensive and what it means for Gazans. <\/p>\n
On Monday, Netanyahu said that Israel plans to take control of all of Gaza. <\/p>\n
The official said earlier in May that the plan would be implemented after Trump\u2019s trip to the Middle East to \u201cprovide a window of opportunity\u201d to reach a hostage deal. <\/p>\n
The warring parties failed to reach a deal during Trump\u2019s visit last week, and Israel pressed on with its operation over the weekend. This began with a series of intense airstrikes last week and was followed by an expanded ground offensive on Sunday. <\/p>\n
The Israeli military said Sunday that over the past week, it struck more than 670 \u201cHamas targets\u201d in a wave of preliminary airstrikes across the enclave. <\/p>\n
Health officials in Gaza said on Sunday that the operation killed over 100 people overnight, and shuttered the last functioning hospital in the enclave\u2019s north. Entire families were killed while sleeping, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. <\/p>\n
More than 53,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its war on October 7, 2023, according to the ministry, which added that the majority of the dead are women and children. <\/p>\n
On Sunday, the Israeli Prime Minister\u2019s Office said that due to the \u201coperational need,\u201d Israel will allow a \u201cbasic amount of food\u201d to enter Gaza to prevent famine in the enclave, which Israel says would jeopardize its military operation. <\/p>\n
Netanyahu has also hinted that his country could lose the support of its closest allies, including the United States, if it doesn\u2019t lift its 11-week blockade on the territory, which has further exacerbated a humanitarian crisis on the ground that aid agencies, including the United Nations, have said could lead to widespread famine. <\/p>\n
The UN had warned that Gaza\u2019s entire population of over 2.1 million people is facing a risk of famine following 19 months of conflict and mass displacement. <\/p>\n
If \u201ca situation of famine\u201d arose in Gaza, Israel \u201csimply won\u2019t receive international support,\u201d Netanyahu said Monday. <\/p>\n
\u201cEven our closest allies in the world \u2013 US senators I know personally and who have been staunch, unconditional supporters of Israel for decades \u2013 are coming to me and saying: \u2018We are giving you all the support to achieve victory \u2013 weapons, support for your efforts to eliminate Hamas, protection at the UN Security Council \u2013 but there\u2019s one thing we cannot accept: images of mass starvation\u2026 If that happens, we won\u2019t be able to support you anymore,\u2019\u201d Netanyahu said in an address posted to Telegram. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are approaching a dangerous point we don\u2019t want to reach,\u201d he said, adding that the military would find a \u201csolution to this problem\u201d to achieve its war aims. <\/p>\n
Netanyahu\u2019s explanations were largely aimed at mollifying his right-wing supporters who adamantly oppose the entry of any humanitarian aid to Gaza, including to civilians. <\/p>\n
Asked when aid will start entering into the enclave, Netanyahu\u2019s office said on Monday that \u201cit will happen in the near future.\u201d <\/p>\n
A controversial American-backed organization, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), tasked with delivering aid to the territory, welcomed the Israeli announcement about allowing food aid as a \u201cbridging mechanism\u201d until the group is fully operational. <\/p>\n
The foundation is meant to run a new, tightly controlled mechanism for aid deliveries that has been approved by Israel and the US, which both countries say is designed to prevent Hamas from \u201cstealing\u201d aid. The GHF-run mechanism has come under criticism from top humanitarian officials, who warn that it is insufficient, could endanger civilians and even encourage their forced displacement. <\/p>\n
Given that the initial sites would only be in southern and central Gaza, the UN warned, this could be seen to be encouraging Israel\u2019s publicly stated goal of forcing \u201cthe entire Gazan population\u201d out of northern Gaza, as Defense Minister Israel Katz put it earlier this month. <\/p>\n
Jake Wood, the foundation\u2019s executive director, said Israel has also agreed to allow it to establish two sites in northern Gaza, which he believes can be up and running within the first 30 days of its operations. <\/p>\n
The UN\u2019s aid chief, Tom Fletcher, said Friday that there\u2019s no need for an alternative Gaza aid plan. \u201cLet\u2019s not waste time: We already have a plan,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
In one of the strongest condemnations of Israel\u2019s war by a high-ranking UN official, Fletcher said the international community must prevent \u201cgenocide\u201d in the enclave. <\/p>\n
\u201cWill you act \u2013 decisively \u2013 to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law? Or will you say instead, \u2018we did all we could?\u2019\u201d he told the UN Security Council. <\/p>\n
Trump visited Gulf Arab states last week, including Qatar, where his negotiating team was engaged in ceasefire and hostage talks. <\/p>\n
The president said this month that he wanted an end to the \u201cbrutal war\u201d in Gaza and did not visit Israel during his tour of the region, which he had already twice bypassed this month in reaching bilateral deals with regional militant groups. <\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Trump denied that Israel had been sidelined. \u201cThis is good for Israel,\u201d he said. But on Thursday, he said he wanted the US to \u201ctake\u201d Gaza and turn it into a \u201cfreedom zone.\u201d <\/p>\n
He also told Fox News on Saturday that he is not frustrated with Netanyahu, as the Israeli prime minister has got \u201ca tough situation.\u201d While in the Gulf, Trump also acknowledged that people are starving in Gaza and said the US would have the situation \u201ctaken care of.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re looking at Gaza. And we\u2019re going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving,\u201d he told reporters in UAE capital Abu Dhabi. <\/p>\n
On Sunday, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told ABC News that the issue with getting aid into Gaza is primarily logistical. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is logistically complicated and the conditions on the ground are dangerous,\u201d he said. \u201cThat said, we do not want to see a humanitarian crisis and we will not allow it to occur on President Trump\u2019s watch.\u201d <\/p>\n
Israeli Defense Minister Katz said Saturday that the new military operation in Gaza is what pressured Hamas to return to negotiations in Qatar last week. But analysts and officials say it\u2019s more likely that the militant group agreed to restart the talks following Trump\u2019s Middle East visit. <\/p>\n
Senior Hamas official Taher Al-Nunu confirmed Saturday that \u201cnegotiations without preconditions\u201d had started in Doha, according to Hamas-run al Aqsa TV. <\/p>\n
It is unclear how well the discussions are progressing in Doha. Israel on Sunday indicated its openness to ending the war in Gaza if Hamas surrenders, a proposition the group is unlikely to accept as long as Israel continues to insist on Hamas disarming. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hamas officials have given conflicting comments about the talks. <\/p>\n
Hours later, another senior Hamas leader, Sami Abu Zuhri, denied and contradicted that proposal, posting a statement on Al-Aqsa TV\u2019s Telegram: \u201cThere is no truth to the rumors regarding the movement\u2019s agreement to release nine Israeli prisoners in exchange for a two-month ceasefire.\u201d <\/p>\n
Zuhri went on to say: \u201cWe are ready to release the prisoners all at once, provided the occupation commits to a cessation of hostilities under international guarantees, and we will not hand over the occupation\u2019s prisoners as long as it insists on continuing its aggression against Gaza indefinitely.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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