Israeli military aims to take over 75% of Gaza within two months
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The entire population of the Gaza Strip would be forced into three areas comprising 25 per cent of the territory, according to media accounts of an Israeli military briefing.
PHOTO: AFP
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JERUSALEM – Israel’s military push in Gaza aims to take over 75 per cent of the small coastal strip within two months, containing some two million people into three areas, according to Israeli media accounts of a military briefing on May 25.
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 during Hamas’ attack on Oct 7, 2023
The entire population of the Gaza Strip, just 365 sq km in total, would be forced into three areas comprising 25 per cent of the territory: the Masawi area in the south, refugee camps in central Gaza, and Gaza City in the north, according to the reports.
The Israeli military already controls about 40 per cent of Gaza.
The announcement comes as humanitarian aid has begun to trickle back into Gaza
However, the head of that controversial effort, Mr Jake Wood, resigned on May 25
Mr Wood said in a statement cited by AP that it had become clear “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”.
The foundation said in a later statement that its aid trucks “are loaded and ready to go” and that it still plans to begin aid delivery in Gaza starting on May 26, with plans to reach “over one million Palestinians by the end of the week”.
Israel, which had blocked all aid in early March, has been under heavy international criticism amid warnings of starvation.
Hamas, designated a terrorist organisation by the US and 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. BLOOMBERG
