Israel launched a major military operation in the Gaza Strip, following days of intensive strikes across the territory that killed hundreds of people.
By Linda Bordoni
“Operation Gideon Chariots”, as the Israeli army has named its intensified military campaign, comes as a new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Doha, Qatar.
Speaking to Reuters on Saturday, a Hamas Official confirmed the new round of talks and said the two sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions”. But, he added, although all efforts are being made to help mediators make the negotiations a success, there is “no certain offer on the table”.
The negotiations come despite Israel expanding operations with “great force” in the Gaza Strip as they seek “operational control” in some areas of the enclave.
The intensified strikes and bombardments come following Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pledge earlier in the week to escalate pressure on Hamas with the aim of destroying the militant group that has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades.
“Operation Gideon Chariots” also comes in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the region without a stop in Israel. There had been widespread hope that Trump’s trip could increase the chances of a ceasefire deal or the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Meanwhile, more than 150 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and more than 3,000 have been killed since Israel broke a January ceasefire on March 18.
Amongst the dead, at least four children died on Saturday afternoon in an Israeli strike in the Jabaliya refugee camp, which is also suffering, as the rest of the Strip, under an Israeli blockade that has let no food, water, fuel or other goods into the territory for over two months.
Saudi Arabia and Italy joined a chorus of international voices calling for a ceasefire, the rejection of the forceful transfer of Palestinians and the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave in which over 53,000 people have been killed in the latest phase of the Israeli-Hamas war triggered by the 7 October 2023 militant incursion into southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw the abduction of 251 others.
(Source: Reuters, AP and other agencies)
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