Israel launches new incursion into Gaza, vows to partially relax months-long aid blockade
Announcements come as Gaza health officials say Israeli strikes kill dozens of people
Israel said on Sunday it launched "extensive" new ground operations in its offensive in Gaza and announced it will allow a limited amount of aid into the Palestinian enclave after global experts warned of a famine there due to Israel's nearly three-month blockade.
Israel's military, which recently called up tens of thousands of reservists, said the ground operations are throughout Gaza's north and south. Israel's chief of staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, said that plans include "dissecting" the strip.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his cabinet approved a decision to allow a "basic" amount of food into the territory of more than two million people, saying a "hunger crisis" in Gaza would jeopardize Israel's new military offensive there.
It was not immediately clear when aid would enter Gaza, or how. The Israeli military body in charge of overseeing aid did not comment. Israel has been trying to impose a new aid system, despite objections by aid workers. Netanyahu said Israel would work to ensure that Hamas militants will not control distribution and ensure that aid does not reach militants.
Israel imposed the blockade beginning on March 2, cutting off all food, medicine and other supplies to Gaza, while pressing Hamas to accept new ceasefire terms. Israel resumed the war days later, shattering a two-month truce.
Israeli strikes kill dozens across Gaza
The announcements on Sunday come as Israeli strikes across Gaza killed dozens of people, many of them children, hospitals and medics said.
Additionally, health officials said fighting around the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza and an Israeli military "siege" prompted it to shut down. It was the main medical facility in the north after Israeli strikes last year forced the Kamal Adwan and Beit Hanoun hospitals to stop offering services.
"There is direct targeting on the hospital, including the intensive care unit," Indonesian Hospital director Dr. Marwan al-Sultan said in a statement, adding that no one could reach the facility, which had about 30 patients and 15 medical staff inside.
Israel's military said that troops were operating against militant infrastructure sites in northern Gaza, including the area "directly adjacent" to the hospital.
Israel has repeatedly targeted hospitals, accusing Hamas of being active in and around the facilities. Human rights groups and United Nations-backed experts have accused Israel of systematically destroying Gaza's health-care system.
Airstrikes killed more than 48 people — including 18 children and 13 women — in and around the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which said it struggled to count the dead because of the condition of bodies.
In northern Gaza, at least 43 people were killed in strikes in Gaza City, according to first responders from the Health Ministry and civil defence. The city's Shifa Hospital said 15 children and 12 women were among the dead.
A drone strike on Sunday afternoon killed at least seven Palestinians near a school sheltering displaced people northwest of Gaza City, according to the Health Ministry's emergency service.
Other strikes in central Gaza killed at least 12 people, including two children and four women, according to hospitals.
In Jabalia, a strike on a home killed nine members of a family, according to the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency services. Another strike on a residence there killed 10, including seven children and a woman, according to the civil defence, which operates under the Hamas-run government.
The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
An initial ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in January but ended in March when Israel resumed bombardment of Gaza. Gaza's Health Ministry has said almost 3,000 people have been killed since the last ceasefire ended.
Netanyahu's office said his negotiating team in Qatar was "working to realize every chance" for a second deal, including one that would end fighting in exchange for the release of all remaining 58 hostages, Hamas's exile from Gaza and the disarmament of the territory. Hamas has refused to leave Gaza or disarm.