Israel declared this week that it was expanding its ground offensive in Gaza, vowing to seize large areas of the enclave in an effort to force the surrender of Hamas after more than 19 months of war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said Monday that Israeli troops could effectively take control of all of Gaza as part of the offensive. It was unclear what exactly that would mean or whether his government would follow through on the threat, which came during a new and intense round of cease-fire negotiations and as the Trump administration presses both sides to agree to a truce.
Britain, France, and Canada issued a rare public reprimand of Israel, demanding that it cease its widening military offensive in Gaza. That laid bare growing rifts between Israel and its traditional Western allies and prompted a furious Israeli response on Tuesday.
The announcements of new military maneuvers could also be a negotiating ploy to pressure Hamas to make compromises.
The past few days have been particularly deadly for Palestinians in Gaza, which has been devastated by the war and a total blockade on aid for more than two months, which has put the population at risk of famine.
How far have Israeli troops advanced?
For weeks, Mr. Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have been threatening a massive escalation in Gaza unless Hamas agreed to Israel’s terms for a truce.
Then on Sunday, Israel announced that its forces had launched “extensive ground operations” throughout the enclave, saying that soldiers from five divisions were participating in the renewed offensive.
The military said it would dissect Gaza into separate zones while ordering Palestinian civilians to leave combat areas.
But details about the renewed offensive and Israeli troop movements were scarce. And despite escalating its rhetoric, the Israeli military on Monday had yet to begin the long-awaited major advance, which could involve thousands of ground troops.
Satellite images taken on May 18 and analyzed by The New York Times show Israeli military activity since a week ago across several locations near Israel’s border with Gaza, including in the northern part of the enclave and near the southern city of Khan Younis.
The military has also been active further south in Rafah, where satellite images show it has destroyed extensive parts of the city since the cease-fire collapsed in mid-March.
Effie Defrin, the Israeli military’s chief spokesman, said at a news conference on Sunday that the military was being intentionally ambiguous about its movements to protect its forces.
How many people have been killed?
Before announcing the renewed ground offensive, Israel had started ratcheting up its bombardment of Gaza. Israeli strikes have killed more than 400 people since last Thursday, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had struck more than 670 targets across the enclave over the past week. People in Gaza have described near-constant explosions and the howls of fighter jets overhead.
One recent attack hit around the European Hospital near the southern city of Khan Younis. Israeli officials said the strike was an effort to kill Muhammad Sinwar, one of Hamas’s remaining top commanders in Gaza; neither Israel nor Hamas has publicly confirmed his fate.
The Israeli military says it takes measures to avoid harming civilians, such as using “precise munitions” and warning ahead of some strikes.
Israeli has killed more than 53,000 people in Gaza since the beginning of the war, according to the Gaza health ministry. Hamas set off the conflict with a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 250 taken as hostages to Gaza.
Is any aid getting into Gaza?
After barring all humanitarian aid from entering the enclave for more than two months, the Israeli government announced on Sunday night that it would allow “a basic amount of food” into Gaza.
On Monday, Israel allowed at least five aid trucks to enter, according to the Israeli military office that oversees humanitarian affairs. Tom Fletcher, the U.N.’s top aid coordinator, welcomed the move but called it a “drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed.”
The blockade has caused widespread hunger and deprivation among Palestinians in Gaza. Aid organizations suspended their operations as food stockpiles dwindled. Doctors reported malnutrition among children, and the United Nations recently warned that people across the enclave were at risk of famine.
Israeli officials had said the blockade was an attempt to force Hamas to surrender and release the remaining hostages held in Gaza, dozens of whom are presumed dead.
For weeks, Israel publicly insisted that Gaza was well-provisioned. But Israeli officials privately began to assess that unless some aid was allowed into the enclave, Palestinians there could face starvation.
In recent days, the Trump administration — Israel’s main foreign backer — joined a long list of foreign governments to warn of starvation in Gaza.
Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement that the resumption of aid was a response to such criticism and an attempt to sustain foreign backing for Israel’s campaign.
If Gazans were to starve, the international community “won’t support us, and we won’t be able to complete our victory,” he said.
How are Palestinians in Gaza responding?
The vast majority of Gaza’s roughly two million residents have already been forcibly displaced at least once — many of them several times — during the war.
Even before the Israeli military’s announcement on Sunday, Palestinians had started fleeing their homes to seek shelter away from the Israeli lines. On Monday, Israel ordered sweeping evacuation orders in and around the southern city of Khan Younis.
Suzanne Abu Daqqa, who lives in Abasan, outside of Khan Younis, said Sunday that what she feared most of all was being forced to leave her home again for a tent camp along the enclave’s sweltering coastline.
“If they tell us ‘leave’ — that will be a great catastrophe,” she said in a phone call.
The following day, Israel’s military warned residents of Abasan to flee or face “an unprecedented attack.”
Isabel Kershner contributed reporting.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
The post What to Know About Israel’s Expanding Offensive in Gaza appeared first on New York Times.
