- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his new national security team have reportedly planned a major ground offensive in Gaza. The Israelis hope to defeat the militant group Hamas.
- Israel deployed troops to the northern region of the Gaza Strip over the weekend.
- The Gaza Health Ministry reported that the Palestinian death toll from the ongoing war exceeds 50,000.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his new national security team have reportedly planned a major ground offensive in Gaza.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel hopes to capture swaths of land that will allow its military to wipe out the militant group Hamas.
What is known about the new ground offensive plan?
On Sunday, Israel deployed troops in the northern region of the Gaza Strip and in the south near the city of Rafah.
Israel also positioned troops in the Netzarim corridor adjacent to the Palestinian enclave in exchange for an area it had vacated as part of the ceasefire agreement.
Israel’s Ministry of Defense announced Monday morning, March 24, that it killed Hamas’ new prime minister, Ismail Barhoum, on Sunday. Hamas confirmed that an Israeli airstrike also killed another high-ranking political official.
The WSJ said it is part of a new battle plan as Netanyahu and a group of his top aides believe they must defeat Hamas on the battlefield before any political solution in Gaza is reached.
What stance has the US taken on these recent developments?
The report indicated that the Trump administration’s support for a renewed offensive in Gaza provides them with more latitude to carry it out. That support involves a higher supply of ammunition to Israel.
The defense minister said Israel would seize territory in Gaza, as long as Hamas continues to hold dozens of hostages that it captured in the initial attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
What is the apparent death toll from the war in Gaza?
CBS News reported that air strikes over the weekend killed at least 26 Palestinians.
The Gaza Health Ministry announced Sunday that the war has killed a total of 50,021 Palestinians so far.
How many Israeli hostages remain captive?
Critics of the renewed Israeli offensive said that further military action risks the lives of the remaining hostages.
Many also think Israel is war-weary and Hamas will never be eliminated without a political and diplomatic solution.
