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Gaza Endures Intense Israeli Bombardment for Second Day
Gaza Endures Intense Israeli Bombardment for Second Day

Al Manar

time19-03-2025

  • Politics
  • Al Manar

Gaza Endures Intense Israeli Bombardment for Second Day

For the second consecutive day, the Israeli occupation has escalated its brutal aggression on Gaza, blatantly violating a ceasefire agreement before it even reached two full months. The Zionist entity falsely blames the resistance for the renewed war—demanding, alongside its US ally, an unconditional surrender it failed to impose after more than 15 months of systematic genocide. However, the real motives behind this treacherous assault are no secret, as revealed daily by Israeli and American sources. U.S. surgeon Feroze Sidhwa, a volunteer at Nasser Hospital in the Gaza Strip, describes the dire situation after Israel launched a heavy wave of violent airstrikes on the enclave, killing over 400 Palestinians. He calls on the U.S. government to stop funding Israel and… — Quds News Network (@QudsNen) March 19, 2025 Political Motives Behind the Assault Former US State Department negotiator Aaron David Miller told Foreign Policy that Israel's airstrikes on Gaza were 'not surprising' and are 'closely tied to the political crisis facing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.' Miller further noted that the prospects of implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement were always slim. He explained that Hamas would not release captives without solid guarantees—something neither the UN nor Washington was willing to provide. He also affirmed that 'Hamas will not be destroyed, and its influence in Gaza will remain strong.' Meanwhile, the Israeli Walla news site claimed that security assessments suggest intensified attacks on Gaza could force Hamas back into negotiations from a weaker position. According to the report, the success of Israel's offensive is measured by Hamas' return to talks. Echoing this rhetoric, Netanyahu declared on Tuesday that negotiations over Israeli captives in Gaza would now take place 'under fire,' vowing further military escalation. WSJ: Large-Scale Ground Offensive The Wall Street Journal, citing security analysts familiar with the Israeli enemy's military plans, reported that the Israeli occupation forces are preparing for a large-scale ground offensive in Gaza. According to the report, the Israeli occupation army may attack multiple areas with greater force while maintaining its positions inside the besieged enclave. Analysts also suggested that the Israeli enemy plans to take on a larger role in aid distribution within Gaza in an attempt to weaken the resistance's leverage. Meanwhile, public support for the war has declined within Israel following the resumption of hostilities. The Wall Street Journal noted that many Zionists now believe that only a negotiated settlement can secure the release of captives held in Gaza. In a related development, around 50,000 demonstrators gathered in the occupied city Tel Aviv demanding a return to negotiations for the captives' release. At the same time, the Israeli military radio reported that a major highway between the occupied cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem was shut down due to protests over the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. Israeli media also quoted the mother of a captive in Gaza saying, 'Resuming the war has opened the gates of hell for us, and no official is updating us on our children's fate.' Israeli occupation forces targeted homes and refugee tents on Wednesday in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry reported that the death toll has climbed to 436, with 678 others wounded. A spokesman for Gaza's Civil Defense said Israeli airstrikes have intensified across the enclave, killing civilians and making rescue operations increasingly difficult. He noted that more than 80 women have been killed in the latest wave of attacks. Early Wednesday, Israeli strikes on Salah Al-Din Street in Nuseirat refugee camp left one dead and several injured. Palestinian media reported that overnight air raids claimed 16 more lives. BREAKING: A fire breaks out in a house in Nuseirat, central Gaza, after it was targeted by an Israeli airstrike. — Quds News Network (@QudsNen) March 19, 2025 In central Gaza, an Israeli strike on a UN facility killed one foreign worker and wounded five others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Meanwhile, a residential home in Sabra, southern Gaza City, was bombed, killing four civilians. Israeli enemy warplanes also targeted a tent in Tuffah neighborhood, while strikes on four displacement camps in Mawasi and the southern region killed 10 people, including a child and a pregnant woman from the Al-Humaidi family. In Deir al-Balah, another home was destroyed in an air raid. Israeli artillery shelled a residential tower in Bureij refugee camp and bombed homes in Rafah. Occupation aircraft also dropped leaflets ordering residents of Abasan al-Kabira, Khuza'a (east of Khan Younis), and Beit Hanoun (north Gaza) to evacuate. The Gaza Government Media Office warned that the continued closure of border crossings and blockade on humanitarian aid could lead to a catastrophic humanitarian collapse. 'The Strip has entered the first stages of famine, with nearly two million people having completely lost access to food security,' the office stated, adding that the coming days will be 'disastrous' if the assault does not stop. The statement held the Israeli enemy and the US responsible for the ongoing genocide, as 25,000 patients in Gaza face imminent death due to shortages of food and water.

Israel Proposes Temporary Cease-Fire Through Ramadan and Passover
Israel Proposes Temporary Cease-Fire Through Ramadan and Passover

New York Times

time02-03-2025

  • Politics
  • New York Times

Israel Proposes Temporary Cease-Fire Through Ramadan and Passover

Israel proposed a temporary cease-fire extension in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover holidays, the prime minister's office announced around midnight on Saturday as the initial phase of the truce was expiring. It appeared to be the Israeli government's effort to make its opening negotiating position clear, as it and Hamas struggle to move from the first phase of the cease-fire into a second, more comprehensive phase as the deal initially called for. The Israeli announcement came after a cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and attended by Israel's minister of defense, senior defense officials and a negotiating team, according to the prime minister's office. But there is still much uncertainty about what will happen next in Gaza. Earlier Saturday, a Hamas spokesman told Al-Araby TV that the militant group had rejected Israel's framework for an extension, Reuters reported. Both Israel and Hamas have reasons to avoid another round of fighting, at least for now. Hamas wants to give its forces a chance to recuperate, while Israel wants to bring home the remaining hostages. But the prospect of a comprehensive agreement seems remote. And Hamas is unlikely to accept Israel's offer without further negotiations, according to Aaron David Miller, a former State Department Middle East analyst and negotiator who is now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The proposal, he said, 'allows Israelis to get hostages back without making reciprocal commitments.' Under Israel's proposal, which it attributed to the U.S. envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, half of the remaining hostages held in Gaza would be released to Israel on the first day of the agreement. If, at the end of the temporary extension a permanent truce had been reached, the rest of the hostages would then be returned. Ramadan concludes at the end of March, while Passover runs until April 20, which under this proposal would give Israel and Hamas about seven weeks to reach a comprehensive agreement. 'Hamas is not going to return all of the hostages until it has ironclad guarantees that the Israelis will withdraw their forces and formally declare and abide by an end of the war,' Mr. Miller said. 'No one is going to give Hamas that guarantee,' he added. Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the agreed-upon deal, which was set forth in the final days of the Biden administration. Phase 1 of that deal, which ended March 1, allowed for a six-week truce to negotiate the terms for an end to the war. The terms of the agreement included the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Israel over the last weekend delayed the release of hundreds of prisoners in protest of Hamas's having paraded Israeli hostages in public spectacles before handing them over. The negotiations between Hamas and Israel that were supposed have been completed by this weekend still have not begun in earnest, though officials from each party did visit Cairo, the Egyptian capital, to discuss the next steps. Mr. Netanyahu has stated that Israel was ready to resume fighting if Hamas did not disarm voluntarily. Hamas has avoided outright calls for a resumption in hostilities, though the group has refused to surrender.

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