Key Points
- Israel’s military has escalated its assault on Gaza with new “extensive ground operations” in the north and south.
- Netanyahu agreed to allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza after international pressure.
- It comes as diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire remain at a standstill.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would control the whole of Gaza despite mounting international pressure that forced it to lift a blockade on aid supplies which has left the enclave on the brink of famine.
The Israeli military, which announced the start of a new operation on Friday, warned residents of the southern city of Khan Younis on Monday to evacuate to the coast immediately as it prepared “an unprecedented attack”.
“There is huge fighting going on, intense and huge, we are going to control all parts of Gaza,” Netanyahu said in a video message in which he pledged to achieve “complete victory” with both the release of the 58 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza and the destruction of the militant group.
Even as the military warned of the attack, Reuters reporters saw aid trucks heading towards northern Gaza after Netanyahu was forced to agree to allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza in response to global concern at the reports of famine.
Netanyahu said US senators he has known for years as supporters of Israel, “our best friends in the world”, were telling him the scenes of hunger were draining vital support and bringing Israel close to a “red line, to a point where we might lose control”.
“It is for that reason, in order to achieve victory, we have to somehow solve the problem,” he said, in a message apparently addressed to far-right hardliners in his government who have insisted aid be denied to Gaza to stop it reaching Hamas.
The Israeli military said forces engaged in a new campaign dubbed “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” were active across Gaza, seeking to eliminate Hamas’ military and governing capabilities and bring back remaining hostages seized in October 2023.
Netanyahu’s office announced the easing of the aid blockade, saying Israel would let in limited amounts of food into Gaza.
Palestinian media said 50 trucks carrying flour, cooking oil and legumes would be allowed into the small coastal territory later on Monday, while Israeli media said nine trucks with baby food were expected to enter in coming hours.
Israel has faced rising international pressure over the blockade on humanitarian deliveries it imposed in March, shortly before breaking a two-month-old ceasefire, as aid agencies warn of famine in the enclave of 2.3 million people.
On Monday, the Gaza health ministry said at least 67 Palestinians had been killed and 361 injured in the last 24 hours.
Since Israel broke a two-month ceasefire in March and resumed its offensive, negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US have failed to make a breakthrough.
Netanyahu has opposed ending the war without Hamas’ total defeat, while tens of thousands of Israelis have called on their leader to strike a peace deal to bring those held in Hamas captivity home.
A Hamas source familiar with the Doha negotiations said the group was willing “to release all Israeli hostages in one batch, provided that a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire agreement is reached”, but Israel “wants to release its prisoners in one batch or in two batches in exchange for a temporary truce”.
Air raid sirens sounded in southern Israel on Sunday, as the army said two projectiles were launched from Gaza, with one intercepted.
The military later issued an evacuation order for several parts of Gaza ahead of an attack, warning it would “launch a powerful strike on any area used for launching rockets”.
On the ground, Gaza civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP 22 Palestinians were killed and at least 100 others wounded in a pre-dawn attack on tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi in the southern Gaza Strip.
AFPTV footage showed people sifting through ruined shelters and rescuers treating the wounded.
“All my family members are gone. There is no-one left,” a distraught Warda al-Shaer said.
“The children were killed as well as their parents. My mother died too, and my niece lost her eye.”
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