Israel orders the army to occupy more of Gaza and threatens to permanently annex it.

BarcelonaIsrael has intensified military pressure on the Gaza Strip, with airstrikes and an expanding ground operation in both the north and south, while threatening to annex parts of the Palestinian enclave. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Friday that he has ordered the army to "seize more areas of Gaza, evacuate its population, and expand the security zones around Gaza to protect Israeli communities and soldiers." "The longer Hamas persists in its refusal to release the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which it will annex to Israel," Katz said.

The minister assured that Tel Aviv will use "all military and civilian pressure, including the evacuation of the population of Gaza in the south and the implementation of the voluntary migration plan of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, for the residents of Gaza." Although this plan, which envisions the ethnic cleansing of the Strip, has received international condemnation, Benjamin Netanyahu's government continues to put it on the table. "If the hostages are not released, Israel will continue to seize more and more territory in the Strip to control it permanently," Katz insisted. White House special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, which would entail an extension of the first phase of the ceasefire for about 50 days, with the demand that all hostages be released. release of all Israeli captives. But negotiations for this stage did not advance, while Israel demanded. the release of all hostages, violating its part of the agreement.

Since unilaterally breaking the truce on Tuesday, Israel has ordered the evacuation of several areas in both the south and the north. In addition, the armed forces partially occupied the Netzarim corridor, thus once again separating the north and south. from the enclave, and urged the northern population to march south again along the highway that runs parallel to the coast. Since Tuesday, Israeli attacks have left at least 590 dead, including some 200 children, and more than 1,000 wounded, according to the latest count by the local Health Ministry.

Humanitarian crisis

All this happens after Israel will now cut off humanitarian aid to the Strip.three weeks ago, so hospitals, in addition to being overwhelmed, warn of a lack of medicines and other supplies to be able to respond to the critical situation.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported this Friday that it only has 23 of its 53 vehicles operational, as it does not have the fuel to operate them. "It's having a devastating impact. If an ambulance doesn't have gas, entire communities call emergency services and receive no response," warned Tommaso Della Longa, spokesperson for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, has also warned that the situation in Gaza is very worrying due to the huge reductions in the distribution of aid supplies. This Friday, it warned that it only has flour to distribute for another six days. "We can extend it by giving people less, but we're talking days, not weeks," said Sam Rose, from central Gaza, during a press conference in Geneva.

"Six of the 25 bakeries supported by the World Food Programme have had to close," he explained. He lamented: "This is the longest period since the start of the conflict in October 2023 in which no supplies have entered Gaza. The progress we made as an aid system during the six weeks of the ceasefire is being reversed."

Political and social tension in Israel

Meanwhile, political and social tensions are growing in Israel. This Friday, street demonstrations erupted again to protest the breach of the ceasefire and Netanyahu's intention to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet (internal security services), Ronen Bar. This Friday, the Israeli Supreme Court issued an injunction halting his dismissal until it considers appeals filed by various organizations, including opposition parties.

Behind the dispute is the official investigation into Netanyahu's policy of allowing Qatar to finance the Gaza administration, which has led some sectors of the military and security apparatus to question the head of government.