Israel launched a new devastating terrestrial offensive in Gaza over the weekend, shortly after US President Donald Trump, letting the region without sealing a ceasefire and a hostage agreement.
The Israeli army stated that his forces moved to the north and south of Gaza on the last day as part of the “Carriage of Gideon” operation, which Israel warned that it would occur if Hamas did not agree with a new agreement on hostage in its terms.
The terrestrial operation occurred after days of heavy air strikes in the Gaza Strip, which, according to local health officials, exterminated whole families.
Israel states that it will allow the entry of a “basic amount of food” in the besieged enclave, a measure that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted to be due to the intense pressure of Israel’s allies. Hamas and Israel also started indirect negotiations in the capital of Qatar, Doha, on Saturday.
Here is what we know about Israel’s new offensive and what it means to the residents of Gaza.
What is Israel’s new operation in Gaza?
Israel has been warning weeks about the operation “Carriage of Gideon”, saying that it aims to reach “all the goals of war in Gaza”, including defeating Hamas and ensuring the release of the remaining hostages in the territory.
The operation was approved by the country’s security office on May 5, a high security employee told CNN Previously, adding that, contrary to what happened in the past, the military will remain in the areas they capture.
On Monday, Netanyahu said Israel plans to “take control of the entire Gaza Strip.”
The conflict parties failed to reach an agreement during Trump’s visit last week, and Israel continued with his weekend operation. The operation began with a series of intense air strikes last week and was followed by an expanded terrestrial offensive on Sunday (18).
The Israeli army said on Sunday that last week reached more than 670 “Hamas targets” in a wave of preliminary air attacks throughout the enclave.
Health officials in Gaza said on Sunday that the operation killed more than 100 people at night and closed the last hospital in operation in the north of the Enclave. Whole families were killed while sleeping, according to the Ministry of Palestinian Health.
More than 300 people have been killed and more than 1,000 have been injured since Thursday (15), according to a count of CNN with data from the Ministry of Health.
More than 53,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began their war on October 7, 2023, according to the ministry, which added that most of the dead are women and children.
What is happening to humanitarian aid to Gaza?
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister’s office said that due to the “operational need”, Israel will allow a “basic amount of food” to avoid hunger at the enclave, which, according to Israel, would endanger its military operation.
Netanyahu also implied that his country could lose support from his closest allies, including the United States, if he does not suspend the 11 -week blockade to the territory, which further aggravated the humanitarian crisis, which, according to humanitarian agencies, could lead to widespread hunger.
The United Nations warned that the entire population of Gaza, from more than 2.1 million people, runs the risk of hunger after 19 months of mass conflict and displacement.
If “a hunger situation” arose in Gaza, Israel “would simply not receive international support,” said Netanyahu on Monday.
“Even our closest allies in the world-American senators I personally know and support Israel unconditionally for decades-come to me and say, ‘We are giving you all the support to achieve victory-weapons, support for your efforts to eliminate Hamas, UN Security Protection-but there is one thing we can not accept: if it happens,” Netanyahu in a speech published on Telegram.
Netanyahu’s explanations were largely aimed at appeasing his right -wing supporters, who vehemently oppose the entrance of any humanitarian aid in Gaza, including civilians.
Asked when help will start entering the enclave, Netanyahu’s office said on Monday that “this will happen in the near future.”
A controversial organization supported by the United States, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), in charge of delivering help to the territory, greeted the Israeli announcement about permission to send food aid as a “transition mechanism” until the group is fully operational.
The foundation should manage a new, strictly controlled help delivery mechanism approved by Israel and the US, which both countries claim to prevent Hamas from “stealing” help.
Considering that the initial places would be only in the South and downtown Gaza, warned the UN, this could be seen as an incentive to Israel’s publicly declared goal of expelling “the entire Gaza population” in northern Gaza, as said Defense Minister Israel Katz earlier this month.
Jake Wood, the Foundation’s executive director, said Israel also agreed to allow the installation of two locations in northern Gaza, which he believes could be in operation in the first 30 days of his operations.
Wood said to CNN I still did not know when or how many aid trucks of Israel would allow you to enter Gaza and said you believe that much of the humanitarian community opposition to the mechanism is based on misinformation.
How did others react?
Human rights advocates claim that the US -supported plan and Israel would militarize help, put civil lives at risk, and encourage forced displacement.
On Monday, the UN boss of the Childhood Agency for Childhood described FGH’s new mechanism as “impractical,” stating that the scheme “would turn humanitarian aid to children and women into a weapon.”
“Israel, as an occupant power, has the legal responsibility to provide help,” James Elder said to Becky Anderson of CNN on the Connect The World. “Although more humanitarian workers have been killed than any other conflict … brave people are ready to do this work. They need to be allowed to do so.”
This occurred after UN Humanitarian Chief of Humanitarian Aid, Tom Fletcher, insisted that there is no need for an alternative Gaza help plan. “We will not waste time: we already have a plan,” he said on Friday.
In one of the most vehement condemnation of the Israeli war by a UN high employee, Fletcher said the international community should prevent “genocide” at the enclave. “Will you act – decisively – to prevent genocide and guarantee respect for international humanitarian law? Or, instead, say, ‘We have done everything we could?'” He told UN Security Council.
What is Trump saying?
Trump visited the Persian Gulf States last week, including Qatar, where his negotiation team was involved in ceasefire and kidnapping negotiations.
The president said this month that he wanted the end of the “brutal war” in Gaza and did not visit Israel during his trip to the region, which had already avoided twice this month to close bilateral agreements with regional militant groups.
On Wednesday, Trump denied that Israel had been marginalized. “This is good for Israel,” he said. But on Thursday, he said he wanted the US to “take” Gaza and turn it into a “zone of freedom.”
He also told Fox News on Saturday that he is not frustrated with Netanyahu, as Israeli Prime Minister faces “a difficult situation.” While in the gulf, Trump also acknowledged that people are starving in Gaza and said the US would “solve the situation.”
On Sunday, US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, told ABC News that the question of bringing Gaza is mainly logistics. “It’s logistically complicated and the conditions on land are dangerous,” he said.
What happens to negotiations?
Israeli Defense Minister Katz said on Saturday that the new military operation in Gaza was the one that pressed Hamas to return to Qatar negotiations last week. But analysts and authorities say it is more likely that the militant group agreed to resume negotiations after Trump’s visit to the Middle East.
Taher Al-Nunu, a high Hamas employee, confirmed on Saturday that “negotiations without preconditions” had started in Doha, according to Al Aqsa TV, run by Hamas.
It is unclear the progress of the discussions in Doha. On Sunday, Israel indicated its opening to end the war in Gaza if Hamas income, a proposal that the group will hardly accept while Israel continues to insist on Hamas’s disarmament.
Meanwhile, Hamas officials made conflicting comments about the negotiations.
Earlier on Sunday, a senior Hamas leader told CNN that the group had agreed to free seven and nine Israeli hostages in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 300 prisoners and detainees Palestinians.
Hours later, another senior Hamas leader, Sami Abu Zuhri, denied and contradicted the proposal, publishing a statement on the Telegram of Al-Aqsa TV: “There is no truth in rumors about the agreement of the movement to release nine Israeli prisoners in exchange for a two-month ceasefire.”
Zuhri continued: “We are ready to release all prisoners at once, provided that the occupation is committed to the termination of hostilities under international guarantees, and we will not deliver the prisoners of the occupation as long as it insists on continuing their aggression against Gaza indefinitely.”
Was this content originally published in what do we know about the new Israeli operation in Gaza? on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
