With ceasefire shattered, what's next for Israel’s military invasion of Gaza?
It is unclear whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan is to pressure Hamas until it agrees to compromise on the hostage deal or if he is now heading toward resuming the war until Hamas is defeated.
As the Israeli military expands its ground invasion of Gaza after the collapse of its ceasefire with Hamas, the political leadership has still not decided whether to keep its operation limited in scope or to relaunch a full-fledged war across the Strip, analysts say. Absent a new agreement with Hamas in the next few weeks that would see the release of Israeli hostages, Israel could ramp up its campaign.
After almost two months of ceasefire in Gaza, Israel resumed overnight on Monday aerial attacks in the Gaza Strip, saying its operation aimed to target middle-level Hamas military commanders and civil administration officials, including members of Hamas’ political bureau.
The military said already on Tuesday morning that it had struck 80 targets, and the following day started what it described as small-scale ground operations, without calling in for reservists.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Friday that "if the terrorist organization Hamas continues to refuse to release the hostages, I have instructed the Israeli military to seize additional territories, while evacuating the [Gazan] population." Katz added, "The more Hamas refuses, the more territory it will lose."
