The announcement comes after days of intensive strikes across Gaza that killed hundreds of people.
Israel is conducting a significant operation in the Gaza Strip in order to exert pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages, stated the defense minister on Saturday. This comes after a series of extensive strikes in the region that resulted in the deaths of numerous individuals.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Operation Gideon Chariots was being led with “great force” by Israel’s army.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had previously declared his intention to intensify the pressure on Hamas with the ultimate goal of eliminating the militant group that has governed Gaza for close to twenty years.
This operation unfolds as U.S. President Donald Trump completed his visit to the area without including Israel in his itinerary. There was a widespread anticipation that Trump’s visit could enhance the possibility of a ceasefire arrangement or the recommencement of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, which Israel has blocked for over two months.
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas have yet to achieve progress in Qatar’s capital, Doha. Hamas, which released an Israeli-American hostage as a goodwill gesture ahead of Trump’s Mideast trip, insists on a deal that eventually ends the three-year war — something Israel said it won’t agree to.
More than 150 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It said almost 3,000 have been killed since Israel broke a January ceasefire on March 18.
Of the hostages who remain in Gaza, Israel believes as many as 23 are still alive, although Israeli authorities have expressed concern for the status of three of those.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.
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