Israel enters northern and southern Gaza with tanks to occupy territory

BarcelonaThe Israeli army announced this afternoon that it had begun ground incursions in northern and southern Gaza as part of the so-called Operation Gideon's Chariots, which was already announced on Saturday"Today, troops under the Southern Command, including active-duty personnel and reservists, began extensive ground operations in the north and south of the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Gideon's Chariots," reads a statement from the strategic situation. The situation has been witnessed in recent days with the deadliest bombings since Israel broke the ceasefire in March. Since Sunday alone, at least 464 Palestinians have died, in addition to the 140 recorded since Saturday night. The talks were held in Qatar, after Israeli forces announced on Saturday the start of a new offensive in Gaza. There has been talk of a proposal to end the war in exchange for the exile of Hamas militants and the demilitarization of the enclave, terms the Palestinian militia has rejected. Israel's position remains unchanged despite Hamas's negotiating efforts: "They want to free the hostages without any commitment to end the war," it criticizes.

The Israeli military claims to have carried out a preliminary wave of strikes against more than 670 Hamas targets in Gaza last week in support of its ground operation, which Tel Aviv says killed dozens of Hamas fighters. Nothing could be further from the picture described by Palestinian health authorities, who lament that the attacks are in addition to the humanitarian blockade that Gaza has been under since March 1. Israeli bombing has left hundreds dead since Wednesday, and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to flee areas such as Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia, and Jabalia in the north of the Strip due to the advance of Israeli tanks.

Israeli media are echoing a report published by the British newspaper, the Sunday Times, which was reportedly leaked by diplomatic sources, outlining Israel's plans for the population of Gaza: to displace civilians in three strips of Israeli land (one in the north, one in the center, and one in the center and one in the center). This would permanently prevent Palestinian movement within the enclave.

This morning, Israeli troops also besieged the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, in the north of the enclave, according to the hospital's director. Marwan Al Sultan said in a statement that Tel Aviv forces have the hospital surrounded and are firing indiscriminately with drones at "anything that moves." This has forced the suspension of some surgical operations. This hospital is the one located furthest north of Gaza and will be the first to be caught in the middle of the advancing Israeli tanks. Indonesian Hospital was not the only hospital in Gaza to fall victim to Israeli attacks. Awda Hospital and the European Hospital, the only one providing oncology services in the enclave, were also affected. The latter was the target of 14 projectiles, which destroyed the facility's infrastructure and oxygen lines, "thus complicating the possibility of reopening the hospital," said the director general of hospitals, Muhamed Zaqout.