Israel’s military offensive in Gaza continued on Monday with airstrikes that resulted in at least 20 Palestinian casualties, hours after Israel announced it would lift a two-month blockade on aid deliveries. The blockade had left Gaza teetering on the edge of famine, with its 2.3 million residents struggling for survival.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained that the aim of this ongoing military operation was to fully secure Gaza by undertaking large-scale ground operations, first unveiled on Sunday. A critical objective was to prevent Hamas militants from seizing humanitarian aid shipments, although Hamas has firmly denied any involvement in looting the aid.
The Israeli military, engaged in “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” stated that its forces were actively operating across Gaza. The operation’s primary goals were to dismantle Hamas’ military and governing structures and to bring home the remaining hostages taken by the group during the October 2023 attack.
Despite these ongoing airstrikes, Netanyahu’s office had announced Israel would allow some humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. Palestinian media outlets reported that at least 50 trucks, filled with flour, cooking oil, and legumes, were expected to enter Gaza later that day. Meanwhile, Israeli sources claimed that nine trucks carrying baby food were set to cross into the region as well. However, by late morning, no activity was visible at the Kerem Shalom crossing, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine refugees commented that they would update the press when aid deliveries began.
International pressure has been growing on Israel to lift the blockade, which was imposed in March after Israel broke a fragile two-month ceasefire. Aid organizations have warned of an impending famine in Gaza, a situation that has only worsened in recent days as the humanitarian crisis deepens.
Nahed Shheibar, the owner of a transport company responsible for distributing aid, made a public appeal to the people of Gaza, urging them not to intercept or loot the aid trucks, emphasizing that the shipments were desperately needed for survival.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military also conducted a raid in the southern part of Gaza, where an Israeli undercover unit killed Ahmed Sarhan, a commander of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a militant group aligned with Hamas. Israeli forces, disguised as displaced persons, entered Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza, before engaging in a brief clash with Sarhan, who was eventually killed. According to witnesses, Sarhan’s family, including his wife and children, was detained by Israeli forces, who retreated under the cover of airstrikes.
In the past eight days, escalating military actions have led to the deaths of over 500 Palestinians. Israel’s military campaign shows no signs of slowing down, despite the ongoing indirect peace talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives in Qatar. According to reports from both sides, the discussions have made little headway.
In the midst of this, Netanyahu stated that the talks had focused on ceasefire proposals and potential prisoner exchanges, but Hamas had rejected the idea of exiling its fighters or the demilitarization of Gaza — proposals Israel has insisted upon for a resolution to the conflict. Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri criticized Israel for the lack of progress in the Doha negotiations, claiming that the continued military operations only endanger the lives of hostages still held by the group.
Hamas has previously accused Israel of killing hostages during airstrikes, while Israel has retaliated with allegations that Hamas executed several of the captives in its custody. The toll of Israel’s ground and air operations on Gaza has been catastrophic, with more than 53,000 people, mostly civilians, reported dead. Gaza has also been left devastated, with nearly all of its residents displaced and living in extremely dire conditions.
This brutal escalation of violence follows the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants on Israeli communities near the Gaza border, which resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the kidnapping of 251 hostages. As the war continues, it remains uncertain when or if the violence will subside, and the situation in Gaza grows ever more desperate.
