Latest news with #OperationGideonsChariot
LBCI
2 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Israel pushes deeper into Gaza with new military plan, eyes hostage deal
Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Akram Chehayeb Israel has launched a new military operation in Gaza, described as more intense than the previous campaign, 'Operation Gideon's Chariot.' The operation is expected to proceed swiftly, ahead of any potential prisoner exchange or ceasefire agreement. The primary objective of the operation is to take control of Beit Hanoun. According to Israel, it has only achieved 50 percent of its targets there so far, whether in terms of destroying tunnels or eliminating Hamas members. The second is to take control of Gaza City, where the capacity to produce improvised explosive devices still exists and where two Hamas brigades are still active. To carry out the operation, the Israeli army has brought five military divisions into the Gaza Strip, and officials emphasize that there will be no compromise on the return of hostages and the destruction of Hamas there. These accelerated steps came after Hamas expressed satisfaction with the U.S. clarifications regarding guarantees to end the war, bringing the deal closer than ever before. The deal is expected to be announced on Monday, during the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The deal includes the release of ten living hostages in five stages, during a sixty-day ceasefire, the handover of eighteen bodies of Israeli captives, and a ban on holding captive release celebrations, which Hamas has organized after every previous deal. This deal is the first stage, during which the parties seek to reach a permanent ceasefire agreement. Israel, which seeks to exit Gaza having achieved a central objective, has laid out a plan for intense combat and is also relying on informants. According to an Israeli report, two new militias have been revealed in the Gaza Strip, whose members receive support with weapons and humanitarian aid from Israel and salaries from the Palestinian Authority. The two militias have joined the ranks of the Yasser Abu Shabab militia, which Israel had used as a covert tool in Gaza. The group caused chaos in the Strip, seized control of aid distribution, and incited protests against Hamas. Hamas is now giving Abu Shabab a deadline to turn himself into the judiciary on charges of treason, espionage for foreign entities, forming an armed cell, and armed rebellion.
Al Bawaba
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Israel to permit very limited quantity of food into Gaza
JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL - Israel announced Sunday that it will allow a very limited quantity of food supplies into the Gaza Strip, claiming the move is meant to prevent a famine in the enclave. Israel 'will permit the entry of a basic quantity of food for the population to prevent the emergence of a hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement. It added that a famine 'could jeopardize the continuation of Operation Gideon's Chariot,' referring to a new phase of Israel's ground offensive in northern and southern Gaza. The decision was based on 'a recommendation from the Israeli military and due to operational needs to enable expanded intensive fighting to defeat Hamas.' Israel's public broadcaster KAN, citing an unnamed Israeli official, said the measure is temporary and expected to last roughly one week, pending the full establishment of aid distribution centers -- mostly in southern Gaza and reportedly supervised by the Israeli military and run by American contractors. Israel and the US are promoting two aid distribution plans, amid Israeli acknowledgment that their actual goal is to depopulate northern Gaza by turning the southern city of Rafah into the primary hub for humanitarian relief and drawing aid seekers there. Earlier Sunday, Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth daily cited unnamed official sources saying that Netanyahu had informed members of the security cabinet of his decision to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. The report said several ministers, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, opposed the move and demanded a vote on the decision -- a request that Netanyahu reportedly rejected. The forthcoming move contradicts Netanyahu's previous statements, where he claimed that the release of US-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander by Hamas last Monday as part of an agreement with the US was unconditional. However, Hamas said the release was part of broader 'understandings' that included aid delivery, as they had previously announced. On Thursday, Hamas warned that failure to implement the agreements with the US regarding aid entry and a ceasefire will negatively impact 'any efforts to complete negotiations on the prisoner exchange process.' In a statement, the group emphasized its commitment to alleviating the suffering of Palestinians by ending the Israeli aggression and opening border crossings for humanitarian aid. The group said the positive step of releasing Alexander was a reflection of this. 'We expect, based on the understandings reached with the American side, and with the knowledge of the mediators, that humanitarian aid will begin entering the Gaza Strip immediately, a call will be made for a permanent ceasefire, and comprehensive negotiations will be held on all issues to achieve security and stability in the region, which is what we look forward to achieving,' the statement added. Indirect negotiations are currently underway in the Qatari capital Doha between Hamas and Israel, aiming to end the genocide and finalize a prisoner exchange agreement. Gaza continues to face severe famine conditions, driven by a deliberate starvation policy enforced by Israel through months-long border closures and restrictions on humanitarian aid. Israel has kept all crossings into Gaza closed to food, medical and humanitarian aid since March 2, deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis in the enclave, according to government, human rights and international reports. Nearly 2.4 million people in the enclave live completely dependent on humanitarian aid, according to World Bank data. The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 53,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Israel says it will allow 'basic' amounts of food into Gaza as military offensive intensifies
Israel says it has five divisions operating inside Gaza , Israeli tanks seen near the Gaza border on Sunday As we've been reporting, Israel launched "extensive ground operations" in Gaza over the weekend, as part of what it calls Operation Gideon's Chariot. The military said on Sunday there were five divisions operating in the Gaza Strip, aiming for "complete control" in "the places where we operate". It said it was moving the population from areas of fighting. Meanwhile, Israeli air strikes continued overnight, where hospitals say more than 100 people were killed in the past day. Sites targeted included the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, the southern city of Khan Younis, and the Jabalia refugee camp. The Israeli military said on Sunday "the only thing that will stop us is returning the hostages home". There are 58 hostages in Gaza, up to 23 of whom are believed to be alive.
BBC News
18-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
All hospitals in north Gaza out of service, says health ministry
All three public hospitals in north Gaza have been put "out of service", the Hamas-run health ministry has said, as Israel continues its offensive to seize areas of the ministry said on Sunday Israeli forces had besieged the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, "with heavy fire... preventing the arrival of patients, medical staff, and supplies". The hospital was the last in the north to be operating, it military on Saturday announced the launch of "Operation Gideon's Chariot", amid the deadliest wave of strikes in Gaza in months. Hamas offered to release nine hostages in exchange for a 60-day truce and the release of Palestinian prisoners, a Palestinian official told the BBC after new negotiations were held on Saturday. The health ministry said on Sunday: "After the destruction of Beit Hanoun Hospital and Kamal Adwan Hospital, and the Indonesian Hospital being put out of service, all public hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip are now out of service."
