Israel says it is expanding its ground operations in Gaza
Israel’s closest allies in the West began defending the idea of ”humanitarian pauses,” or temporary pauses in bombings, carried out by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip war against the terrorist group Hamas. However, the Israeli government continues to reject calls for a ceasefire.
In the first three weeks after the terrorist attack on Israeli territory on October 7, Israel and its major allies such as the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Japan were very much in agreement.
The discussion about the breaks is the first public disagreement between some of them and Israel.
“Israel is currently against a humanitarian pause or ceasefire,” said Lior Haiat, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Friday (27). A senior Israeli government official said calls for a pause in fighting appeared to be in “bad faith.”
The calls for a pause came after days of intense diplomacy at UN headquarters in New York and Brussels. There are some countries, like Spain, that want to pressure Israel to reach a ceasefire, and some that say Israel’s right to selfdefense takes precedence.
The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted this Friday (27), with dissenting votes from the United States, a nonbinding resolution calling for an “immediate and permanent humanitarian ceasefire”, amid the resurgence of the Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip.
By 120 votes in favour, 14 against and 45 abstentions, the General Assembly approved the text proposed by Jordan on behalf of the Arab group, which makes no mention of Hamas or Israel. It previously rejected inclusion of an amendment from Canada that called for explicit condemnation of Hamas for the Oct. 7 attack that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, most of them civilians.
1 of 1 Israel bombs Gaza Photo: Portal Israel bombs Gaza Photo: Portal
The army is expanding its operations
Earlier, Israel’s top military spokesman said Israeli air and ground forces would step up their operations.
“In addition to the attacks of recent days, ground forces are expanding their operations this evening,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a televised news conference.
He said the main target was the tunnels used by the terrorist group Hamas in regions near Israeli territory.
On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held a press conference and, when asked about a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, responded: “The day when this will happen is not far off, and the exercise will begin when the conditions are appropriate.”
According to local telecommunications companies and the Red Cross, internet and cell phone services have been disrupted in Palestinian territory.
According to provider Jawwal, services were interrupted due to heavy shelling.
A statement from the Red Crescent said it had lost contact with operations in Gaza and team members on the ground.
According to the New York Times, Palestinians who are still able to make contact with people outside the Gaza Strip report fear and panic about possible further air strikes.
The terrorist group Hamas previously said it had fired a volley of rockets at Israel in response to Israeli bombings in the northern Gaza Strip.
Last week, the Israeli Defense Minister explained for the first time the occupation that Israel wants to carry out in the Gaza Strip. According to Yoav Gallam, the occupation operation will take place in three phases and “will not last forever.”
“We want to carry out an operation in Gaza to end responsibility for the area forever,” Gallant told Israeli lawmakers during a session in the country’s parliament.
These three phases in your war should be:
How the current war began
▶️ How did the recent conflict between Hamas and Israel begin? The latest dispute in the region began on October 7, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. This was the most violent action on Israeli territory in the last 50 years. The country’s intelligence services could not have suspected that an offensive of this magnitude was being prepared.
▶️ What is Hamas? The terrorist group is one of the main Islamic organizations in the Palestinian territories (there are two noncontiguous territories: the Gaza Strip and the West Bank). Since 2007, Hamas has controlled Gaza, which lies on a narrow strip of land on Israel’s west coast. The group is considered terrorist by countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, but is supported by Iran.
▶️ How was the attack? The actions were concentrated near the border with the Gaza Strip, from where Hamas fired thousands of rockets. Armed men from the south of the country invaded Israeli territory by land, air and sea, on motorcycles and paragliders. Invaders shot people in the streets and kidnapped hundreds of people (including women and children) and took them hostage to Gaza.
▶️ What was Israel’s reaction? Faced with the Hamas offensive, the Israeli government began retaliatory measures. “We are at war and we will win,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said shortly after the attack. “Our enemy will pay a price he has never known.” Also on October 7, Israel launched bombing raids on the Gaza Strip.
▶️ How many people died? According to the tally released on October 23, more than 6,000 people have died since the war between Hamas and Israel began on October 7. In the Gaza Strip, the number of victims rose to over 5,000, including 2,000 children. There are 15,898 injured in Gaza. Around 1,400 deaths and 4,000 injuries have been confirmed in Israel, most of them on the day of the Hamas attack on October 7th.
▶️ What is the current context of this conflict? Saudi Arabia and the Israeli government were negotiating to establish formal diplomatic relations. The United States is actively working on this. If Israel and Saudi Arabia become allies, Iran, a common enemy of both, will become even more isolated. “The main motivation of Hamas and Iran.” [para o ataque] It was the desire to disrupt this agreement that threatened to isolate them. The idea was to embarrass Arab leaders who have made peace with Israel or might do so,” said Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel.
▶️ What is and where is the Gaza Strip? It is a Palestinian territory located on a narrow piece of land on Israel’s western coast, bordering Egypt and washed by the Mediterranean Sea. The city, characterized by poverty and overcrowding, has more than 2 million inhabitants living in an area 41 km long and 10 km wide. Gaza was captured by Israel in the SixDay War in 1967 and handed over to the Palestinians in 2005. Gaza is currently experiencing a blockade of goods and services imposed by its border neighbors.
▶️ What is the history of conflict in the region? The dispute between Israel and Palestine has been going on for decades and has resulted in numerous armed clashes and deaths. In its modern form, it dates back to 1947, when the United Nations (UN) proposed the creation of two states, one Jewish and one Arab, in Palestine under a British mandate.
▶️ When was Israel recognized as a state? In 1948. Since then, there has been a dispute over territory in the region, and several agreements have attempted to establish peace in the region, but none of them have been successful.
▶️ What is the difference between Israelis and Palestinians? Israelis are citizens of the State of Israel, founded in 1948. Palestinians are the Muslimmajority ethnic Arab people who lived in the region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.