The goal is to "conquer Gaza" and move the population to the southern part of the area, as well as to attack Hamas and stop the terror-classified group from taking control of humanitarian aid, an Israeli official tells the newspaper.
In a statement, the Israeli military, IDF, says the goal is to gain "operational control" in Gaza.
"IDF has begun conducting extensive attacks and mobilizing troops over the past 24 hours to gain operational control in Gaza. This is part of the preparations to expand operations and achieve the war's goals – including releasing hostages and dismantling the terrorist organization Hamas", the military writes in a post.
Israel claims that the recent deadly attacks should be seen as part of increasing pressure on Hamas – and if no progress is made in the negotiations on releasing hostages, the next step will be launched in the coming days, writes Haaretz.
Nearly 100 people were killed in Gaza on Friday, according to hospital reports, following intense Israeli bombing raids. In total, more than 220 lives have been lost over the past few days. Israel claims that the targets of the raids are Hamas representatives, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to escalate the war. However, a large proportion of the dead are children and women.
At the same time, hunger and the threat of starvation are acute. UN agencies have been warning for weeks that food stocks are empty and medical supplies are exhausted.
Israel has blocked all humanitarian aid to Gaza since March 2, according to reports, in order to put further pressure on Hamas, whose large-scale attack against Israel on October 2023 triggered the war.
