17-05-2025
Israeli forces drop warning leaflets as they launch new military operation to occupy Gaza
CAIRO – 17 May 2025: Early Saturday morning, the Israeli occupation forces began expanding their military operations in Gaza amid Hamas's reluctance to agree to a temporary halt of the fighting and give up on their long-held demand of a permanent end to the war.
Within hours of the start of Operation Gideon Chariots, the Israeli army launched extensive strikes and moved troops to seize control of areas within the Gaza Strip, killing dozens of Palestinians including women and children.
The Israeli army said in a statement that the operation aims to achieve all the war's objectives, including the release of captives and the dismantling of Hamas.
Operation Gideon Chariots, a reference to a biblical warrior, aims to occupy all of Gaza and displace its residents, according to Israeli reports.
The Israeli government has called up tens of thousands of reservists for the operation.
Israeli forces have ramped up strikes on Gaza, killing more than 250 people, many of them women and children, bringing the total fatalities since the start of the war 19 months ago to over 53,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials#Egypt… — Egypt Today Magazine (@EgyptTodayMag) May 16, 2025
According to Israeli reports, the operation is likely to last several months, including the evacuation of the entire population of Gaza from combat zones, including northern Gaza, to areas in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army plans to remain in any area it occupies.
'Strike The Sea'
Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets in Deir al-Balah, including Verse 63 of Surat Al-Shu'ara: 'Then We inspired to Moses, 'Strike with your staff the sea,' and it parted, and each portion was like a great towering mountain.'
Below them was the text: "O residents of Gaza, the Israeli army is coming."
On the ground, 13 Palestinians were killed and others wounded on Saturday when the Israeli occupation bombed civilian homes in Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip, and Khan Yunis, south of the Strip.
Local sources reported that an Israeli drone bombed a house in the western camp in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, killing two citizens and wounding others.
The sources added that the Israeli occupation bombed a house in the Tal Al-Zaatar area, east of Jabalia camp, north of the Gaza Strip, killing three citizens and wounding others.
Civil defense and ambulance crews recovered the body of a Palestinian from in Shuja'iyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City. He was killed by Israeli fire while trying to get food from his home.
Israeli airstrikes on a house east of Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip, also injured a number of citizens, and others were missing under the rubble, with rescue teams having difficulty reaching them.
The Israeli forces continue to bomb and destroy homes throughout the Gaza Strip, displacing thousands of citizens, some of whom have left their families under the rubble and unable to rescue them.
The war in Gaza has killed over 53,000 people, predominantly women and children, according to local health authorities.
