The Israeli military has announced a new phase in its Gaza offensive amid heavy airstrikes, the latest of which has resulted in the deaths of at least 58 Palestinians overnight into Saturday, according to local health officials.
The IDF (Israel Defence Force) announced it was “conducting extensive strikes and mobilising troops to achieve operational control in the areas of Gaza,” in an operation dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots”.
The announcement came after a wave of intensified strikes which have led to several hundreds of deaths over the past week, including 108 on Friday.
Israeli proposal details possible plan to rule Gaza
Separately, documents dated December 2023 reviewed exclusively by Euronews revealed that one of the proposals the Israeli government has on the table includes creating a new entity in Gaza “the day after” a defeat of Hamas.
The proposal, in the form of a 32-page academic paper, was authored by a group of over 35,000 Israeli security force reservists called the Israel Defence and Security Forum.
The plan does not specify whether Israel intends to annex the Gaza Strip, but it explicitly excludes the sovereignty of Palestine and the presence of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as a source for humanitarian aid, with the IDF having a greater say in the overall administration of its affairs.
Arab leaders gather in Baghdad
Following the IDF announcement, UN Secretary General António Guterres on Saturday called for a permanent and immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Attending the annual Arab League Summit in Baghdad, he said “We need a permanent ceasefire now adding that he is “alarmed by reported plans by Israel to expand ground operations and more.”
The war in Gaza is at the top of the summit’s agenda, as leaders from gather in the Iraqi capital. At an emergency summit in March, they endorsed a proposed plan for the reconstruction of Gaza which would not dislplace the enclave’s 2 million residents.
The summit comes a day after US President Donald Trump wrapped up his tour in the region, which failed to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza as had been widely hoped, but made headlines after Trump met with new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
At the conclusion of his trip, Trump ackowledged that “a lot of people are starving” in Gaza, and claimed the US is “going to get that taken care of.”
Earlier in the week, international food security experts reported that 20% of Gaza’s population faced starvation and is at crtical risk of famine if Israel does not lift its blockade of lifesaving aid.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher spoke to UN Security Council members on Tuesday, asking “Will you act now, decisively, to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law?”
In a letter on Friday, Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon responded by accusing Fletcher of delivering a “political sermon” and invoking “the charge of genocide without evidence, mandate, or restraint.”
