Israel begins expanded operation in Gaza; ‘key moment’ for deal with Hamas, says US

‘Gaza is burning’

The Israeli military said its intensified operation “to destroy Hamas' military infrastructure” has started.

Israel's Arabic language spokesperson Avichay Adree also announced the expansion of Israel's operation on X on Tuesday morning, after a night of heavy strikes against northern Gaza that killed at least 20 people.

Defence Minister Israel Katz’s “Gaza is burning” comment came as Rubio, the US Secretary of State, prepared to travel to Qatar, where he planned to meet with officials still incensed over Israel's strike last week that killed five Hamas members and a local security official.

While Arab and Muslim nations denounced the strike at a summit on Monday, they stopped short of any major action targeting Israel, highlighting the challenge of diplomatically pressuring any change in Israel's conduct in the grinding Israel-Hamas war.

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Rubio calls for ‘negotiated settlement’

Rubio, speaking to journalists while leaving Israel for Qatar, suggested the offensive had begun.

“Well, as you saw, the Israelis have begun to take operations there. So we think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen,” Rubio said. “We don't have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks so it's a key moment — an important moment.” “Our preference, our No. 1 choice, is that this ends through a negotiated settlement," he added, while acknowledging the dangers an intensified military campaign posed to Gaza.

“The only thing worse than a war is a protracted one that goes on forever and ever,” Rubio said. “At some point, this has to end. At some point, Hamas has to be defanged, and we hope it can happen through negotiation. But I think time, unfortunately, is running out.”

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Heavy strikes across Gaza City

The Israeli military says its expanded operation in Gaza City has begun and warned residents to move south. It said its intensified operation “to destroy Hamas' military infrastructure” has started.

The Shifa Hospital in Gaza City received the bodies of 12 people killed in a strike that hit multiple houses in the western part of the city, with another 90 wounded arriving at the facility in recent hours, said Dr. Rami Mhanna, hospital managing director.

“It was a heavy night,” said Radwan Hayder, a Gaza City resident sheltering near the Shifa Hospital.

Israel has been warning Gaza City residents to evacuate for the past month ahead of a Gaza City operation, but many have said they are unable to evacuate due to overcrowding in Gaza's south and the high price of transport.

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Won’t relent: Israel’s defence minister

“Gaza is burning,” Katz wrote on X. “The (Israeli military) is striking with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure and (Israeli) soldiers are fighting heroically to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas. We will not relent and we will not go back — until the completion of the mission.”

Both Netanyahu and Rubio said on Monday the only way to end the conflict in Gaza is through the elimination of Hamas and the release of the remaining 48 hostages — around 20 of them believed to be alive — setting aside calls for an interim ceasefire in favour of an immediate end to the conflict.

Hamas’ condition

Hamas has said it will only free the remaining hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have since been released in ceasefires brokered in part by Qatar or other deals.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,871 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't say how many were civilians or combatants. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, says women and children make up around half the dead.

(With inputs from agencies)