Israel IS back to attacking Hamas IN GAZA….
America and Middle east countries ahve just been bystanders….
The Israeli military will expand its ground operation in Gaza to occupy 25% of the enclave over the next two to three weeks, a senior Israeli official said in a briefing with reporters on Monday.
Why it matters: The Israeli official said the ground operation is part of a “maximum pressure” campaign aimed at forcing Hamas to agree to release more hostages. But reoccupation could go beyond Israel’s stated objectives of the war and could serve as a pretense for pressing Palestinians to leave Gaza.
- The move, which has already begun, is again forcing the displacement of Palestinian civilians who returned to their homes in northern and southern Gaza strip after the ceasefire was announced in January.
- If no new hostage-release and ceasefire deal is reached, the ground operation could expand and lead to the reoccupation of most of the enclave and the displacement of most of the 2 million Palestinian civilians living there to a small “humanitarian zone.”
- Some Israeli officials say reoccupation is a step towards implementing the government’s plan for “voluntary departure” of Palestinians from Gaza and is necessary to defeat Hamas.
- Others warn it could leave Israel responsible to two million Palestinians in what could turn into an indefinite occupation.
Driving the news: On March 17, Israel resumed the war in Gaza with a series of massive airstrikes against what it described as Hamas targets all across the enclave.
- More than 400 Palestinians were killed in the strikes, the majority were women and children.
- According to the Hamas-run Gaza’s Health Ministry, 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war resumed and more than 50,000 since the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel.
On Monday morning, the Israeli Defense Forces issued evacuation orders to Palestinians in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza strip…..
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