Israel’s military has launched a major offensive aimed at defeating Hamas and securing the freedom of remaining hostages in Gaza. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) mobilized troops for “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” to seize strategic areas of the strip. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, Israeli attacks have killed around 250 people since Thursday.
The IDF stated it would not stop operating “until Hamas is no longer a threat and all our hostages are home”. In the past 24 hours, the Israeli military has struck over 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip. The operation’s objectives include taking and controlling territory, moving civilians to the south of the strip, attacking Hamas, and preventing it from taking control of aid supplies.
International Reactions and Humanitarian Concerns
US President Donald Trump said, “a lot of people were starving” in Gaza. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned that Israel’s recent escalation could be considered a breach of international law, stating, “This latest barrage of bombs… underline that there appears to be a push for a permanent demographic shift in Gaza that is in defiance of international law and is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed that the US is “troubled” by the situation.
Humanitarian Crisis
A British reconstructive surgeon working at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis described the dire situation: “The children are really thin… We’ve got a lot of youngsters whose teeth have fallen out… A lot of them have quite significant burn injuries and with this level of malnutrition they’re so much more prone to infection and they’ve got so much less capacity to heal.” A UN-backed assessment found Gaza’s population to be at “critical risk” of famine, which the Israeli government has repeatedly rejected.
Background
The conflict began with Hamas’s cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Hamas still holds 57 hostages, and fewer than half are believed to be alive. Israel’s military campaign has killed 53,000 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry.