Over a day after it restarted aerial bombings of Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have resumed “focused ground operations” in the “center of the Gaza Strip” over the past 24 hours.
As we observed earlier, clearly an indefinite all-out war is back on, and the collapsed ceasefire will not be put back together anytime soon. The IDF says it has “re-expanded their control to the center of the Netzarim” corridor, which is the buffer zone that separates northern Gaza from the south.
Withdrawal from Netzarim had been part of phase one of the 2-month ceasefire, thus much of the diplomatic work done during that time has now been effectively reversed.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told the Palestinians that “the evacuation of the population from the battle zones” in Gaza will “begin again soon,” in a video message Wednesday.
“Take the advice of the U.S. President. Return the hostages and eliminate Hamas, and other options will open up for you – including going to other places in the world for those who wish,” Katz said.
However, the border crossing with Egypt is currently closed, and so hundreds of thousands of civilians will have nowhere to go. The new IDF operation has included the movement of tank units deeper into Gaza.
Gaza’s Health Ministry had said as of Tuesday least 436 Palestinians, including 183 children, have been killed since Israel resumed the bombardment.
Also read: White House Greenlit New Israeli Strikes On Gaza, Breaking Of Ceasefire
