{"id":16992,"date":"2025-05-19T15:02:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T15:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/19\/israel-begins-extensive-gaza-ground-operation-after-intense-airstrikes-kill-more-than-100-overnight\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T15:02:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T15:02:47","slug":"israel-begins-extensive-gaza-ground-operation-after-intense-airstrikes-kill-more-than-100-overnight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/19\/israel-begins-extensive-gaza-ground-operation-after-intense-airstrikes-kill-more-than-100-overnight\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel begins extensive Gaza ground operation after intense airstrikes kill more than 100 overnight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel launched an extensive ground operation in Gaza Sunday in addition to <\/strong>an intense air campaign that health officials in the territory say killed over 100 people overnight and shuttered the last functioning hospital in the enclave\u2019s <\/strong>north. <\/p>\n

The Israeli military\u2019s ground operation in <\/strong>northern and southern Gaza comes as international mediators push for progress <\/strong>in <\/strong>ceasefire talks. <\/p>\n

Hamas and Israel began indirect talks in the Qatari capital Doha Saturday, with senior Hamas official Taher Al-Nunu confirming that \u201cnegotiations without preconditions\u201d had started, according to Hamas-run al Aqsa TV. <\/p>\n

While there is some optimism around the talks, a breakthrough is looking uncertain. Israel on Sunday indicated its openness to ending the war in Gaza if Hamas surrenders, a proposition the militant group is unlikely to accept. Hamas has said it will release all of the Israeli hostages if there are guarantees Israel will end the war. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf Hamas wants to talk about ending the war through Hamas\u2019s surrender, we will be ready,\u201d an Israeli source said. <\/p>\n

Hours later another senior Hamas leader, Sami Abu Zuhri, denied and contradicted that proposal, posting a statement on Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV 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

He 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

The Israeli military has claimed that their new military campaign \u2013 called \u201cGideon\u2019s Chariots,\u201d a reference to a biblical warrior, and announced late on Friday \u2013 has brought Hamas back to the negotiating table. And due to the \u201coperational need,\u201d Israel\u2019s Prime Minister\u2019s Office said Sunday that the country will allow a \u201cbasic amount of food\u201d to enter the Gaza Strip, to prevent a hunger crisis in the enclave, which Israel says would jeopardize the operation. <\/p>\n

The campaign was launched \u201cto achieve all the goals of the war in Gaza, including the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas,\u201d the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the operation, we will increase and expand our operational control in the Gaza Strip, including segmenting the territory and moving the population for their protection in all the areas in which we operate,\u201d Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Effie Defrin said on Sunday. <\/p>\n

But analysts and officials say it\u2019s more likely that Hamas agreed to restart the talks following a visit from US President Donald Trump to the Middle East. <\/p>\n

This past week, Netanyahu directed the Israeli negotiating team to head to Qatar for talks, but made clear that he is only committed to negotiating a proposal put forward by the US\u2019 Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, which calls for the release of half the hostages in return for a temporary ceasefire. That proposal did not guarantee an end to the war. <\/p>\n

Trump was in Doha Wednesday as part of a Middle East trip that skipped Israel. Trump said this month that he wanted an end to the \u201cbrutal war\u201d in Gaza. <\/p>\n

He also bypassed Israel twice this month in reaching bilateral deals with regional militant groups. Hamas released an Israeli-American hostage last week, and the Houthis agreed to stop firing at American ships in the Red Sea while pledging to continue fighting Israel. <\/p>\n

Trump, however, 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

\u201cI have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good, make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone,\u201d Trump said from Qatar. <\/p>\n

While in the Gulf, Trump also acknowledged that people are starving in Gaza and said the US would have the situation in Gaza \u201ctaken care of.\u201d <\/p>\n

Entire families killed<\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, the UN and prominent aid organizations are raising the alarm over Israel\u2019s new offensive in Gaza, saying it is civilians who are bearing the brunt of the assault. <\/p>\n

Entire families were killed while sleeping together, according to the health ministry. <\/p>\n

As the bombardment continues and the death toll rises, Gaza\u2019s healthcare system is being pushed further to the brink. <\/p>\n

Over the past week, the Israeli military has carried out strikes near several hospitals across the enclave, including the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, the last remaining functioning medical facility in northern Gaza, rendering it out of service. <\/p>\n

On Sunday, Al-Sultan told British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) that the hospital is \u201ccompletely besieged,\u201d that nobody is able to reach it, and that its intensive care unit was also being hit. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are deeply helpless,\u201d he said, adding that the situation is \u201cbeyond alarming.\u201d <\/p>\n

Northern Gaza\u2019s Al-Awda hospital saw a \u201charrowing night\u201d with bombing in the vicinity of the hospital, the facility\u2019s director Dr. Mohammed Salha told MAP on Sunday. <\/p>\n

Salha said the hospital\u2019s medical systems \u2013 oxygen for ventilators, electricity and water supplies\u2013 were severely damaged. Quadcopters flying over the area hampered the movement of medical teams in and out of the hospital, and a shortage of medical supplies and fuel was making it difficult for the hospital to continue providing essential care. <\/p>\n

On Sunday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said that \u201call public hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip are now out of service.\u201d <\/p>\n

Famine risk in Gaza<\/h2>\n

Prior to Israel announcing Sunday that it will allow a \u201cbasic amount of food\u201d to enter the Gaza Strip, the UN warned the enclave\u2019s entire population of over 2.1 million people is facing a risk of famine following 19 months of conflict and mass displacement, exacerbated by Israel\u2019s 11-week blocking of aid. <\/p>\n

A controversial American-backed organization, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), tasked with delivering aid to the enclave, welcomed the Israeli announcement about allowing food aid into Gaza as a \u201cbridging mechanism\u201d until the group is fully operational. <\/p>\n

The non-profit was set up at the urging of the American government to help alleviate hunger in Gaza, while complying with Israeli demands that the aid not reach Hamas. <\/p>\n

In a statement, the group\u2019s executive director Jake Wood said, \u201cToday\u2019s announcement marks an important interim step. We expect GHF\u2019s new aid mechanism\u2014including the establishment of four initial Secure Distribution Sites\u2014to be up and running before the end of the month.\u201d <\/p>\n

The new organization has come under criticism from top humanitarian officials, who warn that it is insufficient, could endanger civilians, and even encourage their forced displacement. The initial sites only being in southern and central Gaza could be seen as encouraging Israel\u2019s publicly stated goal of forcing Gaza\u2019s population out of the north, the UN warned. <\/p>\n

But the foundation says it has asked Israel to help set up distribution points in the north. The UN also warned that the Israeli military\u2019s involvement in securing the sites could discourage aid recipients. <\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called the Prime Minister\u2019s Office\u2019s aid decision a \u201cserious mistake,\u201d asserting that any aid entering Gaza would \u201ccertainly fuel Hamas.\u201d <\/p>\n

The number of people killed by Israel\u2019s offensive in Gaza in the wake of the October 7, 2023 attacks now exceeds 53,000 \u2013 the majority of whom are women and children, the health ministry said Thursday. <\/p>\n

Despite the resumption of talks in Qatar, Omar Qandil, whose brother, sister-in-law and 4-month-old niece were killed in an overnight airstrike in central Gaza, said he feels the world has turned a blind eye to their suffering. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey were all asleep\u2026 all targeted in their bedroom,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what we (can) say anymore, we (have) spoke a lot. There is no one looking at us: not Arabs not Muslims, no one.\u201d <\/p>\n

The IDF on Sunday said its new offensive in Gaza is happening \u201cin full coordination\u201d with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, and that the military is trying to prevent harm to the remaining hostages; but the forum has decried the operation saying it would endanger those still held captive in the enclave. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe current policy is killing the living and erasing the dead. Every bombing, every delay, every indecision increases the danger. The living hostages face immediate mortal danger, and we risk losing the deceased forever,\u201d said Hagai Levine, the head of the forum\u2019s health team, who the group said co-authored a report about the dangers the latest Israeli operation poses to the hostages. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n

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