Tel Aviv — Testing the limits of a fragile ceasefire On its fifth day, the Israeli military said Thursday its forces opened fire in the south Gaza Strip against masked and armed suspects who posed a threat to their safety. The Israeli army in a statement reported incidents east of the town of Rafah in southern Gaza and in the area of the Kerem Shalom border crossing, through which aid trucks delivered more food , water and medical supplies since the ceasefire took effect. .
The Israeli military said it had killed an Islamic Jihad group militant and that while Israel remained “committed to fully maintaining the terms of the agreement [ceasefire] agreement to return the hostages”, he was also “prepared for any scenario and will continue to take all necessary measures to thwart any immediate threat against IDF soldiers”.
There was no immediate response to the incident from Hamas leaders in Gaza.
Hours before IDF confirms operation in southern Gaza, recently sworn in by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and told him that “maintaining the United States’ steadfast support for Israel is a top priority for President Trump,” according to a statement. call playback.
Rubio made a series of calls to foreign ministers around the world, but Netanyahu was the first head of state he spoke with, according to information provided by the State Department. The two also discussed the release of the remaining 94 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, seven of whom are Israeli-Americans, and responding to Iranian threats, although the State Department provided no details.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry has reported no new deaths since the ceasefire took effect, but the official toll has continued to rise as relief teams and recovery, as well as ordinary citizens, are finding more bodies and, in some cases, piles of bones, in the rubble of the devastated Palestinian enclave.
OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP/Getty
The ministry said that as of Thursday its tally showed that more than 47,200 people had been killed during the war sparked by the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which saw militants kill around 1,200 people and in kidnap 251 others. In Gaza, the remains of more than 160 people have been found since the ceasefire began on Sunday, the ministry said.
Thousands of other bodies are still believed to be under collapsed buildings in this enclave, which housed some 2.3 million people before the war. The media office of the Hamas-led administration in Gaza said Thursday that around 14,000 people were still missing.
Faster recovery efforts, as well as aid distribution, have been hampered due to the strip’s lack of functioning heavy equipment and its decimated infrastructure, according to rescue workers and humanitarian agencies.
On Wednesday, the UN said 808 trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including food, fuel and medical supplies, had entered the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire took effect. But the ceasefire and hostage release agreement negotiated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt provided for the entry of 600 trucks into the territory each day.
Hussam Al-Masri/Reuters
Hamas announced it would release four more hostages – Israeli women – on Saturday. The first exchange on Sunday saw three captives freed in exchange for around 90 Palestinian prisoners released from an Israeli prison in the occupied West Bank. Israel is expected to release an additional 200 Palestinian detainees in the next exchange this weekend.
Meanwhile, a “large-scale” military offensive launched by the IDF in the West Bank earlier this week continued into the night, concentrated in and around the sprawling Jenin refugee camp in the north of the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli military claims to have killed two men during Operation Iron Wall who were linked to the Hamas-allied Islamic Jihad group, saying the men shot dead three Israelis in a bus attack two years ago weeks in the West Bank.
Raneen Sawafta/Reuters
The Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank, which is not controlled by Hamas like Gaza, said on Wednesday that 10 Palestinians had been killed during the new IDF operation.
The “Iron Wall” constitutes a show of force majeure by the IDF in Jenin, a region of the West Bank long considered by Israel as a stronghold of Iranian-backed militant groups. Since the Gaza ceasefire took effect, the IDF has shifted its attention – and its firepower – to the West Bank.
One of President Trump’s many initial moves at the start of his second term this week was to withdraw Biden-era sanctions imposed on Israeli settlers seen as a security threat in the West Bank.
Domestically, for Prime Minister Netanyahu, the West Bank offensive could be aimed at least in part at appeasing part of his support base – notably far-right members of his own cabinet – who were exasperated by the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Israel’s former national security minister, right-wing nationalist Itamar Ben-Gvir, resigned in protest against the deal, saying it was giving in to terrorism.
If the country’s Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, another far-right cabinet member, were to resign, Netanyahu’s fragile coalition government would collapse. Snap national elections are then expected to be called in the country, which could jeopardize Netanyahu’s long hold on political power.
Ramy Inocencio
