Israel on Wednesday stepped up its offensive in Gaza as tanks and ground forces moved into central and eastern parts of Rafah, the enclave’s third-largest city.
The ground operation in the south was preceded by intensive air strikes that lasted for several hours. Air strikes were also reported in the northern and central Gaza Strip. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said 53 people were killed, including 19 − among them children − in a strike on a UN clinic housing displaced residents. Israel said Hamas was using the building as a command and control centre.
Defence minister Israel Katz said the military operation was expanding “to crush and clear the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and to seize broad swathes of territory that will be added to the Israel’s security zones. I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to remove Hamas and to return all the hostages [taken in Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023]”.
An Israeli security official said seizing control of territory would weaken Hamas’s public standing and oblige the militant group to move more quickly towards a hostage deal.
Israel renewed its Gaza offensive on March 18th, blaming Hamas for rejecting a US proposal to extend a ceasefire in place since January 19th. Hamas blamed Israel for refusing to withdraw from the Philadelphi route on the Egypt-Gaza border and refusing to engage in talks on the second stage of the ceasefire, in accordance with the terms of the January deal.
Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum condemned the decision to expand the military operation in Gaza. “Instead of getting the hostages out in an agreement and ending the war, the Israeli government is sending more troops into Gaza to fight in the same places they have fought in time and time again,” the forum said in a statement.
“Responsibility for the release of the 59 hostages from Hamas captivity resides with the Israeli government. Our pained sense is that that mission has been relegated to the bottom of the set of priorities.”
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza, meanwhile, is getting worse by the day. Bakeries in the coastal enclave have closed due to a severe lack of fuel and flour caused by Israel’s near month-long blockade of humanitarian aid.
“Hot meals are continuing, but supplies will last two weeks,” said Abeer Etefa, communications officer for the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) in the Middle East. “WFP will distribute its last food parcels in the next two days.”
[ Israel says it will expand Gaza military operation, seize large areas of enclaveOpens in new window ]
The blockade has also caused medical supplies to run dangerously low.
More than 50,400 people have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza, according to health officials there. The Israeli military launched its campaign in response to the Hamas-led attack in October 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures.
There were tears and screams on Wednesday when the Israeli army presented to relatives the findings of the military’s inquiry into the Nova music festival massacre. A total of 364 people, almost all of them young revellers, were murdered at the site, close to the Gaza border, in the early hours of the Hamas-led attack.
Maj Gen Dan Goldfus admitted the army had made a mistake and did not understand the enormity of the event that unfolded that day.
Bereaved father Ofir Dor shouted at Israel Defense Forces representatives, demanding to know how it was possible for terrorists to shoot their children while the army fell asleep at the wheel.
Merav Ben-Ruby, whose daughter Eden was murdered at the festival, called it a betrayal and abandonment. “For a year and a half no one told us what happened. How can I forgive that?” she asked.
