Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he expects a new offensive in Gaza to move “fairly quickly,” despite warnings from the United Nations and humanitarian groups that the situation in the enclave is deteriorating.
After getting the green light from his security cabinet to seize control of Gaza City, Prime Minister Netanyahu told reporters his hands are tied. He said he has “no choice” but to finish the fight against Hamas and free the hostages taken on October 7th.
But Hamas has drawn its own red line: the group says it will not lay down its arms unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized—setting up a seemingly impossible deadlock.
Late Sunday, witnesses reported heavy Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City. Health officials at Shifa Hospital said at least five people were killed at a sandwich shop in the Sabra neighborhood.
Palestinian media said another strike hit a tent used by journalists near the hospital. The Hamas-run Gaza media office said five Al Jazeera staff were killed, including reporters Anas Al Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh.
Israel’s military said Al Sharif was a Hamas cell leader posing as a journalist, citing intelligence and recovered documents. UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan has previously called such claims unsubstantiated.
Netanyahu’s office said he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday about the planned push to dismantle the last Hamas strongholds. The prime minister said the offensive would target two main areas and that “safe zones” would be set up for civilians to leave Gaza City. Palestinian officials say such zones have not kept people safe in the past.
Israel’s military chief has cautioned against occupying all of Gaza, warning that doing so could risk hostage lives and draw forces into prolonged urban combat.
Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s explicit plan to refrain from a permanent military presence within Gaza, although he reaffirmed the objective of creating a secure buffer zone immediately adjacent to the Israeli border.
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Concurrently, within the United Nations Security Council, several European states cautioned that malnutrition is accelerating within Gaza and that any escalation of military activities would further compound humanitarian suffering.
“Because the root of this starvation is human decisions, immediate measures are required to halt the crisis and to augment the humanitarian corridor,” the diplomatic representatives of Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom declared collectively.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the past twenty-four hours alone have recorded five additional fatalities directly attributable to malnutrition among the population, including two minors, thereby increasing the documented count to a total of 217 hunger-related deaths since the commencement of hostilities.
Meanwhile, the Hamas-controlled media apparatus reported a different dimension of humanitarian jeopardy, stating that a minimum of twenty-three persons have perished from the unintended consequences of airdrop operations, among whom is a fourteen-year-old boy who sustained fatal injuries from a descended aid crate in central Gaza.
The war erupted when Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages. Israel says 20 of the remaining 50 captives are alive. Gaza health officials say more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations since then, and large parts of the territory have been destroyed.
