Israel launches military operation in Gaza to pressure Hamas to release hostages
The Israeli government said it has launched a new military operation in the Gaza Strip to increase the pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages.
Defence minister Israel Katz said Operation Gideon Chariots is under way and is being led with “great force” by Israel’s army.
The announcement comes after days of intensive strikes across Gaza that killed hundreds of people, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed 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.
The operation comes as US President Donald Trump concluded his trip to the region without a visit to 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, which Israel has prevented for more than two months.
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas have yet to achieve progress in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
Hamas, which released an Israeli-American hostage as a goodwill gesture ahead of Trump’s journey to the Middle East, insists on a deal that ends the war – something Israel said it will not agree to.
Israel’s army said in a post on X on Saturday that it was intensifying attacks and exerting “tremendous pressure” on Hamas across the strip. It said it will not stop until the hostages are returned and Hamas dismantled.
Of the hostages who remain in Gaza, Israel believes as many as 23 are still alive, although Israeli authorities have expressed concern for the status of three of those.
More than 150 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
It said more than 3,000 have been killed since Israel broke a January ceasefire on 18 March.
On Saturday afternoon, an Israeli strike killed at least four children in the Jabaliya refugee camp, according to Al-Awda Hospital, which received the bodies. Seven others were wounded in the strike, which hit a house.
Gaza has entered a third month of an Israeli blockade with no food, water, fuel or other goods entering the territory. Food security experts say Gaza will be in famine if the blockade is not lifted.
Earlier this week, a new humanitarian organisation that has US backing to take over aid delivery said it expects to begin operations before the end of the month – after what it describes as key agreements from Israeli officials.
A statement from the group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, identified several US military veterans, former humanitarian coordinators and security contractors that it said would lead the delivery effort.
Many in the humanitarian community, including the UN, said they will not participate because the system does not align with humanitarian principles and won’t be able to meet the needs of Palestinians in Gaza.
A statement on Friday by Tom Fletcher, the United Nations’ humanitarian chief, said the plan is “rooted in the non-negotiable principles” and that the UN has people ready to deliver assistance. He demanded the rapid, safe and unimpeded aid delivery for civilians.
The war began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
By AP Reporters