The Israeli military expanded ground operations on the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the first rocket launch in central Israel for the first time in months, which looked increasingly like a sliding towards a full-scale war.
The military said Israeli soldiers began raiding part of Rafa City in southern Gaza and near Beit Lahiya in the north of the enclave. The moves come the day after Israel announced it had recaptured part of the Netzarim corridor, part of central central Gaza, as part of a ceasefire with Hamas in January.
There are no reports of casualties from the Hamas rockets that opened fire in the coastal city of Tel Aviv. The Israeli military said the three rockets were intercepted or fell in an open area.
The escalation of hostilities comes after a two-month ceasefire in Gaza this week, a deadly Israeli air bombing on the territory, which the military says is targeting Hamas. Israel argues that the truce will not continue unless Hamas releases more hostages still in Gaza and Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.
However, the potential final match of this round of battle is far from clear. Israel and Hamas set seemingly incompatible conditions for the next step in the ceasefire, and the new Israeli attack has not forced Hamas to accept its demands.
Husam Badran, a senior Hamas official, said in an interview Thursday that the group is reluctant to disarm the military – an important premise for Israel is to end the war.
“If you do this, it’s a chance to kill without any Palestinian reaction,” Mr Badran said in Doha, Qatar.
He added that Hamas delayed the rockets until Thursday in an attempt to give mediators more time to oppress Israel to stop its attack. But as Israel continues to attack, he said that as the death toll in Gaza rises, “Hamas must present signs that it can respond.”
The Gaza Health Ministry said on Thursday that the new Israeli attack killed more than 500 people in Gaza, including dozens of children, over the past three days. These numbers do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The United States has been seeking to promote an extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with its weight behind the Israeli offensive. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday that President Trump “full support for Israel” and “the actions they have taken in recent days.”
Israeli military warned Palestinians in southern Gaza to flee after the Hamas rocket attack, saying militants were firing fire in the area. Israeli military spokesman Avicay Adraee called it “the final warning” before the Israeli attack.
Hamas said there were at least five senior members of Gaza’s leaders among the hundreds who died in the Israeli strike on Tuesday. The Israeli military said Thursday it killed at least two other Hamas security officials.
In Gaza, the escalating conflict has caused panic and fear among Palestinians, who want longer breathing from the violence. Many say they soon saw hope for a resolution to the crisis.
Abdelkarim al-Harazin, 28, a doctor in Gaza, said the truce has brought Palestinians back from a year of hunger and deprivation for weeks: the border crossing has reopened and aid has flowed in.
He accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire. But he also said Hamas’ leaders should hand over dozens of Israelis and foreign hostages still in Gaza to make more Palestinians attacks.
“Everyone is exhausted,” Al-Harazin said. “How long must we continue to live like this?”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to increase pressure on Hamas until the group promoted and released more hostages. According to Israel, about 24 Israeli and foreign prisoners, as well as more than 30 other remains, are believed to be in Gaza.
Hamas officials said their demands for the release of the remaining prisoners remained the same, including an agreement to end the war, with Israel evacuating entirely from Gaza. and release more Palestinian prisoners.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 48,000 people died in the territory, including thousands of children, in the 15-month war in Gaza. Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 people as hostages, killing Gaza.
In January, the ceasefire reached its initial six-week truce, while mediators tried to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas in a full truce. But this disappeared in early March without a broader agreement.
Almost immediately, Israel blocked humanitarian aid from entering Canada, including food and medicine, to clearly force Hamas to release more hostages in negotiations. Later, the Israeli government cut off the power supplied to the desalination plant.
Mediators like the United States are trying to reach a deal to expand the armistice, including the permanent ending of the war and the release of the rest of the hostages. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, made a proposal that would expand the initial ceasefire in exchange for more captives.
Hamas official Mr Badran suggested the organization would be willing to show some flexibility in such an agreement to begin the initiation negotiations aimed at ending the war. Previously, Hamas talked about the release of one living and four murdered American Israel hostages in such a deal and retained more than 50 others who are still in Gaza.
“The problem is not the number,” Badland said. “We are actively acting on any proposal that leads to the start of negotiations.”
But as long as Hamas still controls Gaza, Israel has been reluctant to end the war. Hamas refused to disband its armed battalion or exile its leaders.
Members of the Israeli parliament’s Foreign and Defense Commission (who received confidential intelligence briefings) said in a recent letter that Hamas still has more than 25,000 combatants.
Hamas’ allies in Yemen, Iran-backed Houthi militia have also restored missiles on Israeli territory, launching sirens for air strikes in the central and southern part of the country at least three times in the past two days.
Hushis fired missiles and drones in Israel for more than a year to unite with militants in Gaza and would stop only when the ceasefire came into effect in January.
Over the past week, U.S. fighter jets have carried out a massive attack on Hotis on Yemen, with U.S. officials claiming an attempt to stop the group from targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
Trump said Wednesday that Houthis would “completely eliminate” and warned Iran to stop supporting militants. Israel and Biden administrations repeatedly bombarded Houthi without success in stopping them.
Rawan Sheikh Ahmad,,,,, Ephrat Livni and Myra Novik Contribution report.
