The mood in Gaza is now worse than it has perhaps ever been in this long and horrifying war. On Tuesday, Israeli planes, tanks, artillery, drones, and ships unleashed a barrage, shattering the ceasefire.
The ceasefire had brought hope that, Palestinians in Gaza said, made the return to violence much more unbearable, writes The Guardian in an analysis.
In a video statement, Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, on Wednesday urged the people of Gaza to "drive out Hamas," saying that "the alternative is destruction."
Two days later, as the airstrikes continued, Katz issued a new ultimatum, this time telling Hamas to release the 59 hostages it holds or "will lose more and more land that will be attached to Israel."
He said that the Israeli Defense Forces will use "all military and civilian pressure, including the implementation of President Trump's voluntary migration plan for Gaza residents."
These last lines were important. A second phase of the ceasefire agreement agreed upon in January was supposed to begin three weeks ago and lead to a possible definitive end to the war. One main reason Israel is abandoning this plan is that the top decision-makers in Israel feel inspired by the new occupant of the Oval Office.
- Israel launches a "final warning" and bombs Gaza
- "The Gates of Hell will open in Gaza." Israel resumes bombings and at least 400 people died last night
Trump's proposal to relocate the entire population of Gaza so that it can be turned into the "Middle East Riviera" has turned the unspoken desire of many increasingly influential Israeli actors into a project that can now be publicly discussed—and even possibly realized in the relatively short term.
Katz's threats, an echo of Trump's words
Katz's threats are essentially an echo of Trump's words. "People of Gaza: A beautiful future awaits you, but not if you hold hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!", posted the U.S. President earlier this month.
General Eyal Zamir, the new IDF Chief of Staff, told Netanyahu that the only way to achieve Israel's stated war objectives of destroying Hamas and recovering hostages from Gaza is through massive and unrestrained force, involving a large number of troops on the ground. This is what the Prime Minister and his cabinet want to hear, especially those from Israel's growing far-right.
It is also what some strategic analysts and Israeli military experts have been saying since the beginning of the war. A year ago, those who said that a military administration of Gaza—with the IDF controlling aid and the population—was inevitable were ignored. But that is not the case now.
The plan to occupy a large part of Gaza and "reorder the space in a more favorable way," in the words of a Jerusalem expert who supports the military administration plan, also aligns with the thinking of Israel's far-right, which now sees an opportunity to partially empty Gaza of Palestinians.
One way to do this is to find a way to allow residents to leave. Currently, there are military and political officials in Israel looking for ways to encourage "legal immigration"—even though, given the conditions in Gaza, any migration would almost certainly be illegal under international law.
The wave of airstrikes on Tuesday took place in a short period of 10 minutes, just after 2 a.m., and seems to have primarily targeted middle and high-ranking Hamas political and military officials, many of whom were at home sleeping with their often large families. This partly explains the seemingly high proportion of women and children among the 400 victims. Israeli officials spoke of hitting 80 "terrorist" targets.
Netanyahu described the wave of strikes as "just the beginning." The Israeli Prime Minister has been accused of telling many lies during this war. It is fair to assume that this was not one of them, concludes The Guardian.