Israel has increased pressure on Gaza with new “widespread” air strikes that have killed 10 times – a day after IDF attacks “killed nearly 100”
Gaza rescuers said the Israeli military announced an operation aimed at defeating Hamas, with a “widespread” Israeli air strike killing 10 people on Saturday.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the news comes after hundreds of people died.
The IDF said on its Hebrew X account that it had mobilized forces to seize the “strategic area” of the zone for “Operation Gideon’s tank.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed earlier this week to escalate the pressure on Hamas to destroy armed groups that have ruled the Palestinian enclave for nearly two decades.
The latest strike began with U.S. President Donald Trump ending his four-day trip to the Middle East, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza continued to deteriorate after Israel imposed aid blockade on the avenues in March, with the last operating hospital in the field not available for supplies and the humanitarian situation in Gaza continued to deteriorate.
The Army announced in an article that it had begun the “initial phase” of a new offensive, as “part of the expansion of the battle in the Gaza Strip” with the aim of achieving the goals of all wars, including the release of the kidnapping and the failure of Hamas.
Israel has put pressure on Gaza with new “widespread” air strikes, killing only 100 people after nearly 100 people died in the IDF attack. Picture: Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip on May 17 rolling in
The Israeli military announced an early stage of a strengthening operation aimed at defeating Hamas. Pictured: Palestinians sat on the site of Israeli air strikes on May 17 to shelter displaced persons
The latest strike begins with U.S. President Donald Trump ending his four-day trip to the Middle East, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates
It said it had “launched a widespread strike and diverted troops to control areas within the Gaza Strip”.
Defense Minister Katz said the Gideon Chariot Operation is in progress and is led by Israeli troops.
Gaza civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said 10 bodies were taken to the hospital after a strike on Saturday morning.
He said three people were killed during a drone strike east of the southern city of Khan Yunis, and three others were killed in a house in Jabbaria in the north, and several were injured.
He added in a strike on a tent west of the same city that the attack on Khan Yuni’s northwest apartment killed three people, one of whom was killed and five injured, “including a girl, a young woman and a pregnant woman.”
Civil Defense Agency said the Israeli strike killed at least 100 people the day before.
Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza on March 18, triggering a two-month truce in the war against Hamas during the group’s October 2023 attack.
Those returning to the fight were international condemned, with the UN human rights chief condemning the new attack on Friday, and what he said was clearly pushing for efforts to permanently replace Palestinian residents in Gaza.
Defense Minister Katz said the Gideon Chariot Operation is in progress and is led by Israeli troops. Pictured: Palestinian relatives and relatives who died in Israeli attack on May 17
Gaza civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said 10 bodies were taken to the hospital after a strike on Saturday morning. Image: Israeli tanks are deployed on the border with the Gaza Strip on May 17, 2025
“The latest bomb of this bomb … denies humanitarian aid stressed that it seems that the permanent population shift in Gaza seems to violate international law, which is related to ethnic cleansing,” Volker Turk said in a statement.
The main Israeli campaign group representing the hostage family said that through extended battles, Netanyahu lacked “historic opportunities” to return to his loved ones through diplomacy.
Hamas asked U.S. news on Friday that Israel lifted the aid blockade in exchange for the group’s recent release of the U.S.-Israel hostages.
Edan Alexander, the last hostage of U.S. nationality, released the situation in Israel after interacting directly with the Trump administration.
Taher al-Nunu, a senior Hamas official, said that as part of the group’s involvement in Washington with regard to Alexander’s release, Hamas “is waiting and expecting further pressure from the U.S. government on Israel” to restore aid.
Israel said its decision to cut off aid from Gaza was to force Hamas to concessions, which still held dozens of Israeli hostages seized during the attack that inspires the war.
But, as the UN agency warns, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces increasing pressure on lockdown as UN agencies warns serious shortages of food, water, fuel and medicines.
Marwan Sultan, director of Indonesian hospitals in northern Canada, said Saturday’s situation caused a catastrophic disaster after targeting the surrounding environment again this morning, causing the collapse of ceilings and cracks in the walls”.
“The operating rooms and intensive care units are already fully full and we cannot accept any critical cases,” he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump admitted on Friday that “a lot of people are starving.”
“We are looking at Gaza. Trump’s journalist in Abu Dhabi held a regional tour that ruled out key Israel’s allies.
The Arab League will meet in Baghdad on Saturday to discuss the local crisis, and Gaza is expected to hold a high position on the agenda.
According to official figures AFP Tally, the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 killed 1,218 people on the Israeli side.
Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 57 remained in Gaza, including 34 of the military said they were dead.
The Ministry of Health, which operates the territory in Hamas, said 2,985 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, with the overall loss of the war at 53,119.
