Hamas seems to have over played their hand ….
Even internal Israeli support for a ceasefire and resumed hostage tradings are slipping away….
As pointed out here….
As long as Hamas IS central to Gaza?
Hard line Israeli leadership will pursue the elusive goal of the elimination of the group….
Thus causing senseless addtional deaths….
Israel’s defence minister said he had instructed the military to “seize more ground” in Gaza and threatened to annex part of the territory unless Hamas released 59 Israeli hostages still held in the devastated territory.
Israel Katz’s warning on Friday came as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intensified the new offensive launched on Tuesday, when a wave of airstrikes shattered the truce that had brought a fragile and relative calm since mid-January.
Further “non-stop” attacks took place overnight across much of Gaza. “It’s all day and all night. Drones, planes, artillery, tanks … all the time. It’s as bad as it’s ever been,” said one aid worker now based in Gaza City.
After retaking part of the strategic Netzarim corridor that divides Gaza’s north from south, Israeli troops have advanced towards the northern town of Beit Lahiya and into the southern border city of Rafah.
Israeli officials have escalated their threats in recent days, calling on Palestinians in Gaza to overthrow Hamasor face the consequences.
“I ordered [the army] to seize more territory in Gaza,” Katz said in a statement. “The more Hamas refuses to free the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed by Israel.”
Katz also threatened “to expand buffer zones around Gaza to protect Israeli civilian population areas and soldiers by implementing a permanent Israeli occupation of the area”, should Hamas not comply.
The permanent establishment of wide buffer zones in Gaza, particularly along its northern perimeter, has long been thought by observers to be an objective of many in the Israeli security establishment and government.
The Trump administration reiterated this week its support for Israel, with the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, saying: “The president made it very clear to Hamas that if they did not release all of the hostages there would be all hell to pay.”
Gaza’s civil defence agency said on Thursday that 504 people had been killed since the bombardment resumed, one of the highest tolls since the war began more than 17 months ago with Hamas’s attack on Israel. More than 100 have been killed since then and many more injured, Palestinian medical officials said…
Arab mediators rush to salvage Gaza ceasefire as Israel restarts war
The details of the proposal were unclear, but efforts to get the Trump administration — which helped broker the original agreement — to break the deadlock have so far yielded little, the official said, adding that Egypt contacted Washington as soon as Israel resumed strikes in Gaza on Tuesday but had not heard back as of Thursday afternoon.
In the meantime, Trump officials have expressed ironclad supportfor Israel’s decision to restart the conflict, a move Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he made in part to pressure Hamas to release more Israeli hostages. “We will always stand with Israel as it defends itself,” Dorothy Shea, acting U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Thursday….
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A Hamas official inside Gaza said that some of the people killed were involved in earlier releases of Israeli hostages. But Naim, who is based outside Gaza, denied this.
The Israeli strikes also targeted “the core of Hamas governance,” including police officers, government officials and people in charge of aid delivery, according to Tamer Qarmout, a professor of public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
Israel has long said that its goal is to eliminate Hamas, which was founded in 1987 to oppose Israeli military occupation, as both a governing and fighting force in Gaza. It’s an aim many observers — including members of Israel’s military and security agencies — have described as unrealistic.
But if Israel continues the strikes targeting Hamas officials, the result will be a “fragmented” movement, Qarmout said. “Then you are dealing with isolated military groups who might have captives, and the risk is they will not listen to the leadership outside,” he said.
Qarmout said the strikes could also be interpreted as Israel signaling that it is no longer interested in negotiations. “I think that’s a very dangerous scenario,” he said.
A former Egyptian diplomat said that Cairo and Doha are continuing efforts to persuade Israel to stop the war. But the efforts are “useless,” he said, adding that unless the United States is willing to pressure Israel to cease its attacks, the conflict would probably continue…..
Note…
This IS a LOSING scenario for Hamas and those being held hostage…..
And?
The people of Gaza….
And the Israeli Prime Minster and his war cabinet….
It IS the Middle East….
There seems to be NO REAL Winners….
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