Israel eying to take over 75% of Gaza in two months as war intensifies

By Ian Fisher 

Israel’s military push in Gaza aims to take over 75 per cent of the small coastal strip within two months, containing some 2 million people into three areas, according to Israeli media accounts of a military briefing on Sunday.  

The offensive is aimed at finally defeating Hamas, or forcing the exile of its leadership, and pressing the militant group to release the remaining hostages taken in Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the media reports from organisations including Haaretz. 

 

The entire population of the Gaza Strip, just 141 square miles (226 kilometers) in total, would be forced into three areas comprising 25 per cent of the territory: in the Masawi area in the south; into refugee camps in central Gaza; and in Gaza City in the north, according to the reports. The Israeli military already controls about 40 per cent of Gaza. 

 

Israel, which had blocked all aid in early March, has been under heavy international criticism amid warnings of starvation. 

 

Humanitarian aid has begun to trickle back into Gaza, and a new US-backed aid program was set to begin as soon as Monday. However, the head of that controversial effort, Jake Wood, resigned on Sunday, the Associated Press reported.  

 

Wood said in a statement cited by AP that it had become clear that “it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon.”

 

It wasn’t immediately clear what Wood’s decision to step down from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation would mean for the new aid program. 

 

Hamas, designated a terrorist organisation by the US and the European Union, triggered the conflict when it attacked southern Israel. It killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. Israel’s offensive has killed more than 53,000 people in Gaza, according to the Palestinian territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.