Israel intends to take control of 75% of Gaza in two months - Bloomberg

Israel intends to take control of 75% of the Gaza Strip and relocate 2 million of its residents to three designated areas as part of a new military offensive in the coastal strip, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.

Details

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the 10-day operation, codenamed "Gideon's Chariot", is aimed at defeating Hamas and freeing hostages held by the Iranian-backed group. Eventually, all of Gaza will be captured by Israeli troops, Netanyahu said, without elaborating on plans for the next day.

"The entire population of the Gaza Strip, with a total area of only 226 kilometers, will be directed to three areas, which make up 25% of the territory - the southern Mavas region in the south, the central Gaza Strip and the city of Gaza in the north," according to Israeli media reports, the publication writes.

The Israeli military did not immediately confirm these reports. They say that troops and tanks currently control about 40% of Gaza.

US President Donald Trump said he wants the war in Gaza to end as soon as possible, even as Israel continues to expand its operations. "Israel, we are negotiating with them and we want to see if we can stop this whole situation as quickly as possible," Trump said on Sunday.

Along with military plans, Israel is implementing a US-backed aid distribution system to initially provide food to about half of the Palestinian civilians in the enclave. The country is facing international criticism for the aid blockade that has been in place since the beginning of March.

Israel, the publication writes, blocked all aid after the expiration of the truce with Hamas, which led to warnings of a possible famine. Efforts by Qatar, Egypt and the United States to mediate a new ceasefire and release hostages have been fruitless.

Humanitarian aid has reportedly started flowing into Gaza again, and a new aid program is scheduled to begin as early as Monday. However, it is overshadowed by the resignation on Sunday of the head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a Swiss non-profit organization supported by the United States and Israel to distribute aid in Gaza.

"It is impossible to implement this plan while strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, which I will not give up," GHF Executive Director Jake Wood said in his statement.

The fund said in a later statement that its humanitarian aid trucks are "loaded and ready to go" and that it still plans to begin delivering aid to Gaza from Monday, planning to reach "more than a million Palestinians by the end of the week."

Addition

Hamas, recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, the publication notes, provoked the conflict when it attacked southern Israel. It killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. According to the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian territory controlled by Hamas, more than 53,000 people have died as a result of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel has lost more than 400 soldiers in fighting in the Gaza Strip.