Israel says
intensified bombings are part of campaign expansion to ‘achieve all of the war
goals in Gaza’
William
Christou
Sat 17 May
2025 13.53 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/17/israel-gaza-ethnic-cleansing-palestinian-death-toll
At least 140
Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours, a deadly escalation
as Israel seemed poised to launch a major offensive in the besieged territory.
Israeli
strikes in Gaza have killed more than 300 people since Thursday, Palestinian
health officials said, one of the deadliest periods in the war since ceasefire
talks broke down in March. The intensified bombing campaigns came as Israel’s
total blockade on humanitarian aid has prompted fears of a famine in the
Palestinian territory.
“Since
midnight, we have received 58 martyrs, while a large number of victims remain
under the rubble. The situation inside the hospital is catastrophic,” said
Marwan al-Sultan, the director of the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza
early on Saturday. The death toll in the last 24 hours was at least 146,
according to Reuters.
The
escalation in attacks was condemned by the UN human rights chief, Volker Türk,
on Friday, who said the bombing campaign was meant to displace Palestinians and
that it was equivalent to ethnic cleansing.
“This latest
barrage of bombs … and the denial of humanitarian assistance underline that
there appears to be a push for a permanent demographic shift in Gaza that is in
defiance of international law and is tantamount to ethnic cleansing,” he said.
Turk’s
comments were also echoed by the UN secretary general, António Guterres, who
called for a permanent ceasefire while speaking at an Arab League summit in
Baghdad on Saturday.
Israel said
the bombardments were the initial phases of Operation Gideon’s Chariots, an
expansion of the campaign in Gaza meant to “achieve all of the war goals in
Gaza”. The strikes were accompanied by a large troop buildup along Gaza’s
borders, aimed at establishing “operational control” of parts of Gaza.
The
campaign, as well as the aid blockade on the territory, was meant to force
Hamas to release hostages, Israeli officials said. The terrorist organisation
took about 250 hostages during its October 2023 attack on Israel, which
resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people. Fifty-seven hostages are still
held by Hamas.
The attacks
came as Donald Trump departed the Middle East after a four-day visit to Arab
Gulf countries, during which Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar made pledges to invest
billions in the US.
Hopes that
Trump’s visit might bring renewed progress on truce talks in Gaza were dashed
after the US president reiterated his desire to turn Gaza into a “freedom
zone”. This was seen as a likely nod to his plan of the US assuming control
over the Palestinian territory and turning it into the “riviera of the Middle
East”.
A January
ceasefire broke down in mid-March after Israel refused to move to a scheduled
second phase that could have led to ending the war. Prospects of a lasting
truce seemed further away as Israel’s security cabinet approved plans in early
May that could involve seizing the entire Gaza Strip.
Gaza
ceasefire talks were also expected to dominate the Arab League summit, where
Arab officials met on Saturday. The Iraqi foreign minister, Fuad Hussein, said
that attending ministers would endorse a reconstruction plan for Gaza, a
contrast to Trump’s offer to take over the Palestinian territory. Ministers
later pledged $40m in reconstruction funds for Gaza and Lebanon.
Later on
Saturday Hamas confirmed a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel was
under way in Qatar’s Doha. A group official, Taher al-Nono, told Reuters both
sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions”.
Israel’s
offensive in Gaza, launched in retaliation for the October 2023 attacks, has
killed about 53,000 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian health
authorities.
Widespread
hunger and malnutrition among children have also soared, after Israel cut off
vital humanitarian aid to the territory on 2 March. There is little medical
care in Gaza, due to scarce supplies and repeated Israeli strikes on hospitals
and medical facilities.
The UN aid
chief, Tom Fletcher, urged a resumption of aid to Gaza in a speech to the UN
security council on Tuesday, where he said famine loomed.
Israel has
consistently denied that its 10-week blockade is causing hunger in Gaza.
However, Trump acknowledged on Thursday that “a lot of people are starving in
Gaza”.
Israel,
which claims Hamas hijacks aid to fund its military, has proposed a plan to
distribute aid from hubs in Gaza run by private contractors and guarded by
Israeli troops. The US has backed the plan, and a body called the Gaza
Humanitarian Foundation is set to begin carrying out the plan by the end of the
month.
Aid groups
described the plan as unworkable and potentially unlawful as it could lead to
forced displacement. They urged Israel to lift its blockade and to rely on the
UN and other existing humanitarian bodies, which have long experience in
transporting aid into Gaza.
“We can save
hundreds of thousands of survivors,” Fletcher said. “We have rigorous
mechanisms to ensure our aid gets to civilians, and not to Hamas.”
The European
Council president, António Costa, said on Saturday: “Shocked by the news from
Gaza: starving civilians, hospitals hit again by strikes. The violence must
stop!”.
Germany’s
foreign ministry said on Saturday it is “deeply concerned” about the situation
in Gaza, and that the offensive “could put the lives of the remaining hostages,
including those of German hostages, in danger”.
“A broad
military offensive also risks worsening further the catastrophic humanitarian
situation for Gaza’s population and the remaining hostages,” it added.
On Saturday
the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, called for pressure to stop Israel’s
“massacre in Gaza” and said Madrid plans a UN resolution requesting a world
court ruling on aid access to the Palestinian territory.
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