At least 140 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 24 hours, and Israel appears to be ready for a fatal escalation as a major offensive launched by the encircled territory.
Palestinian health officials said more than 300 people have been killed by Israel's strike in Gaza since Thursday. The enhanced bombing campaign is due to the Israeli blockade of humanitarian aid that has prompted fears of famine in the Palestinian territory.
"We have received 58 martyrs since midnight, and many of the victims are still in the ruins. The situation inside the hospital is disastrous," said Marwan Al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza earlier on Saturday. Reuters said the death toll in the past 24 hours was at least 146.
UN Human Rights Director Volker Türk condemned the escalation of the attack on Friday, saying the bombing campaign was intended to replace the Gaza people, which amounted to “ethnic cleansing.”
"The latest bomb hit … denied humanitarian aid stressed that it seems that the permanent population shift in Gaza seems to be in violation of international law and is controversial with ethnic cleansing," he said.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also praised Turk's remarks, who called for a permanent ceasefire in his speech at the Arab League summit in Baghdad on Saturday.
Israel said the bombing was the initial stage of Gideon's chariot operation, an extension of the Gaza campaign aimed at "achieving all war goals in Gaza". The strike was accompanied by large forces along the Gaza border, aiming to establish “operational controls” in parts of Gaza.
Israeli officials say the campaign, as well as the aid blockade on the territory, aims to force Hamas to release the hostages. Terrorist groups took about 250 hostages in the October 2023 attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people. Hamas still holds 57 hostages.
Donald Trump left the Middle East after a four-day Arab Gulf country visit, who saw Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar pledged to invest billions in the U.S.
Hopefully, Trump's visit may be shattered after Trump reiterated his desire to turn Gaza into a "free zone." This was seen as a nod to his American plan, taking control of the Palestinian territory and turning it into a "Riviera of the Middle East."
The January ceasefire occurred in mid-March after Israel refused to move to its scheduled second phase, which could lead to the end of the war. Negotiations on the updated ceasefire have made little progress, and the prospect of a protracted truce seems to be further apart, as Israel's security cabinet approved the approved plan that could involve seizing the entire Gaza Strip.
Gaza ceasefire negotiations are also expected to dominate the Arab League summit, with Arab officials meeting on Saturday. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the participating ministers would endorse Gaza's reconstruction plan, which is in stark contrast to Trump's proposal to take over the Palestinian territory. Ministers then promised $40 million in reconstruction funds to Gaza and Lebanon.
According to Palestinian health authorities, Israel's attack in Gaza was retaliated against the October 2023 attack, killing about 53,000 people in the Gaza attack.
Extensive hunger and malnutrition among children also soared after Israel cut off important humanitarian aid to the territory on March 2. Gaza has few medical services due to scarce supplies and repeated strikes in hospitals and medical institutions.
Tom Fletcher, head of UN aid, urged Gaza to restore aid to Gaza in his speech to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, saying the famine was vaguely visible.
Israel has been denied that its 10-week lockdown is causing starvation in Gaza. But Trump admitted on Thursday: “A lot of people are hungry in Gaza.”
Israel claims Hamas hijacked aid to fund its military, and he proposed a plan to send aid to a private contractor-run Gaza hub and guarded by Israeli forces. The United States supports the plan, and an agency called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will begin implementing it by the end of this month.
The Assistance Team described the program as infeasible and could lead to forced displacement. They urged Israel to lift its blockade and rely on the United Nations and other existing humanitarian agencies, who have long-term experience in delivering aid to Gaza.
"We can save hundreds of thousands of survivors," Fletcher said. "We have strict mechanisms to ensure our aid can be used to civilians rather than Hamas."