Escalation in Gaza: Israeli Military Clashes Near Hospitals and Plans Ground Assault

The Israeli military has encountered conflicts near Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Reports from the health ministry controlled by Hamas in Gaza revealed that 62 Palestinians lost their lives in one day, contributing to a total of 32,552 casualties since the Israeli counteroffensive began in October. This military action was in response to a Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel.

Amidst rising tensions, Israel has decided to discuss plans for a ground attack on Hamas militants in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, with U.S. officials in Washington. This decision comes after a brief protest against the U.S. for not vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, highlighting a growing rift between Israel and its strongest ally, the United States.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on the necessity of the Rafah operation to dismantle Hamas’s control, despite U.S. opposition due to the risk it poses to over a million Palestinian civilians taking refuge in the area. Israel promises to relocate these civilians before launching any attacks.

Netanyahu emphasized that the U.N.’s push for a cease-fire only emboldens Hamas, vowing to continue the fight until Hamas’s military capabilities are neutralized and hostages are released. The White House and Israeli officials are planning more discussions, while concerns about U.S. force protection for humanitarian aid missions to Gaza have been raised by U.S. senators.

The conflict, which escalated from a Hamas terror attack on October 7 that killed 1,200 and took about 250 hostages, has seen more than 100 hostages released during a temporary cease-fire in November. According to Gaza’s health ministry, the majority of the casualties are women and children, with nearly 75,000 others injured.