Israel escalates military campaign in Gaza amid deepening humanitarian catastrophe

Daily News Egypt

21-05-2025

The Israeli occupation army has intensified its operation in the Gaza Strip, launching heavy airstrikes on residential neighbourhoods in both the northern and southern regions, despite mounting international condemnation and renewed calls for a ceasefire.
The latest wave of attacks comes as the blockaded territory plunges deeper into an escalating humanitarian disaster, with hospitals overwhelmed, medical supplies dwindling, and critical infrastructure nearing collapse.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 82 people were killed and 262 wounded in the past 24 hours. The total number of casualties since the resumption of Israeli operations on March 18 has now reached 3,509 fatalities. Since the start of the war on October 7, 2025, more than 53,655 people have been killed and over 120,000 injured.
In the most recent escalation, Israeli airstrikes struck multiple areas of Jabalia in northern Gaza and Khan Younis in the south, reportedly flattening entire residential blocks, according to Palestinian media. The Israeli army's radio service confirmed that additional brigades had been deployed as part of an expanding ground offensive aimed at increasing territorial control.
Despite Israeli statements claiming a temporary opening of border crossings to allow humanitarian aid into the enclave, the United Nations reported that no assistance had reached civilians. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric called the delivery process 'lengthy, complex, and dangerous,' citing Israeli military requirements for aid workers to offload and reload shipments—delays that have severely hindered distribution and increased operational risk.
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) accused Israel of manipulating humanitarian aid for strategic purposes. Pascale Coissart, the organization's emergency coordinator in Khan Younis, said the volume of aid permitted to enter was 'woefully insufficient,' characterizing the process as a deliberate strategy to deflect accusations of using starvation as a weapon of war.
Meanwhile, Gaza's Government Media Office said Israel had blocked the entry of humanitarian supplies for a third consecutive day, despite previous assurances. The office warned that the closure of all border crossings for more than 80 days has driven Gaza into a 'catastrophic humanitarian situation,' marked by extreme shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.
Diplomatic tensions continued to rise. On Tuesday, the United Kingdom summoned Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely and announced the suspension of free trade negotiations with Israel, citing what it described as the 'expansion of genocide' against Palestinians. Sweden also declared its intention to push for European Union sanctions against Israeli officials over ongoing human rights violations and a lack of accountability.
In the United States, Israeli news outlet Walla reported that two senior White House officials said President Donald Trump is growing 'increasingly alarmed' by the images of suffering Palestinian children circulating in the media. According to the report, Trump has sent direct messages to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to 'end the war immediately.'
Nonetheless, Netanyahu ordered part of Israel's negotiating team in Doha to return home on Tuesday, leaving only technical personnel in place. The move is widely seen as a sign of stalled diplomatic efforts as fighting intensifies on the ground.
Inside Israel, far-right activists staged protests near the Karm Abou Salem crossing in an effort to block humanitarian aid shipments into Gaza. The extremist group 'Order 9' shared videos on X (formerly Twitter), claiming that 'starving Gaza residents is the only way' to pressure Hamas into releasing Israeli hostages.
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) issued a statement accusing Israel of using starvation as a deliberate method of warfare, labelling the blockade and bombardment as a 'systematic act of genocide.' In a message posted to Telegram, Hamas accused Israel of deceiving the international community with claims of permitting aid while carrying out 'one of the worst atrocities of the modern era.'
Hamas called for immediate international intervention to end the blockade and stop the war, warning that continued global silence amounts to 'complicity in the crime.'