Israeli military says it has launched first stages of major offensive in Gaza, same day Trump leaves region with no deal
Mohammed Tawfeeq
and
Jeremy Diamond
, CNN
Palestinians carrying their belongings as they flee Gaza City on 16 May.
Photo:
AFP / BASHAR TALEB
The Israeli military says it has launched the first stages of a new major offensive in Gaza, in a development that comes on the same day that US President Donald Trump concluded his visit to the region without securing a ceasefire deal.
In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces said it launched "extensive attacks and mobilised forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening moves of Operation 'Gideon's Chariots' and the expansion of the campaign in Gaza, to achieve all the goals of the war in Gaza, including the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas".
The development comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month that the population of Gaza would be displaced to the south following his security cabinet's approval of an expanded military operation that one minister described as a plan to "conquer" the territory.
"IDF troops in the Southern Command will continue to operate to protect Israeli citizens and realize the goals of the war," the military said in its statement.
Since Thursday, the Israeli military has intensified operations across Gaza, killing more than 100 people, as Netanyahu pledged to continue bombings - even as Trump suggested establishing a "freedom zone" in the enclave.
Many of the casualties were in Jabalya in northern Gaza and in Khan Younis in the south, according to Gaza Civil Defense.
Netanyahu has pledged to eradicate Hamas with a strategy that would see the military hold more territory in Gaza and push the entire civilian population into a smaller area in the south.
The new Israeli offensive comes amid what appear to be growing differences between the US and Israeli governments. Trump said last week that he wanted an end to the "brutal war" in Gaza and he did not visit Israel during his tour of the Middle East this week.
He also bypassed Israel twice this month in reaching bilateral deals with regional militant groups. Hamas released an Israeli-American hostage last week, and the Houthis agreed to stop firing at American ships in the Red Sea while pledging to continue fighting Israel.
On Wednesday, Trump denied that Israel had been sidelined. "This is good for Israel," he said. But on Thursday, he said he wanted the US to "take" Gaza and turn it into a "freedom zone".
"I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good, make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone," Trump said in Qatar.
While in the Gulf, Trump also acknowledged that people are starving in Gaza and said the US would have the situation in Gaza "taken care of".
"We're looking at Gaza. And we're going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving," he told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile, UN agencies are calling for urgent action as the situation for civilians grows increasingly dire.
Around 436,000 people have been estimated to have been forcibly displaced since March, according to a report from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, when Israel launched a fresh ground campaign as part of its renewed assault on the enclave.
For nearly 11 weeks, Israel has imposed a complete siege on Gaza, denying entry of food, medical supplies and other aid to the more than two million Palestinians who live in the territory.
Israel says the blockade, along with the military's expansion of its bombardment of Gaza, is intended to pressure Hamas to release hostages held in the enclave - but international organisations say it violates international law, with many accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.
A UN study this week warned one in five people in the Gaza Strip are facing starvation and that the entire population of Gaza is at "high risk" of famine, the most severe type of hunger crisis.
The US and Israel are backing the newly established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a tightly controlled mechanism for Gaza aid deliveries that seeks to supplant the traditional role of UN agencies in delivering aid to the enclave.
The foundation's executive director, Jake Wood, told CNN on Friday that Israel has agreed to allow some food into Gaza before a newly approved mechanism for aid deliveries is up and running later this month, but he did not yet know when or how many aid trucks Israel would allow in.
The Israeli government has not been swayed by a growing tide of international criticism over the blockade on aid reaching Gaza, now in its third month.
Netanyahu said earlier this week: "We are destroying more and more homes, they have nowhere to return to. The only inevitable outcome will be the desire of Gazans to emigrate outside of the Gaza Strip," a goal that Trump had supported soon after coming into office.
The announcement of Israel's intensifying operations came as the Palestinian Ministry of Health said that the number of people killed by the Israeli offensive in Gaza since October 2023 now exceeds 53,000, the majority of whom are women and children.
Israel launched the war after Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups carried out a surprise attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. This attack marked the deadliest terror attack in Israel's history.
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