- Written by Mark Loewen
- BBC News, Jerusalem
Israeli attacks are currently focused on southern Gaza
More than 25,000 people have now been killed in Gaza since the Israeli offensive began, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
It was announced that 178 people had died in the past 24 hours, making it one of the deadliest days of the war so far.
As the fighting continues, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again rejects the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Israel is currently focused on attacking southern Gaza and believes top Hamas commanders are holed up in or underground in the city of Khan Yunis.
The Israeli military said it had discovered another tunnel here, about 830 meters (2,700 feet) long and equipped with booby traps and explosive doors.
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) footage showed what appeared to be a tunnel with mattresses and cells inside. Israel believes that is where about 20 Israeli hostages, including children, were being held at various locations. However, when the tunnel was discovered, nothing was found.
Israeli forces are also under renewed attack in the northern Gaza Strip, with Hamas said to have exploited a gap around the town of Jabalia as Israel moves troops and tanks south.
More than three months after the conflict began, Israel, which has a military that far exceeds Hamas's capabilities, continues to face significant resistance across Gaza.
U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly estimate that Israeli forces have killed 20 to 30 percent of Hamas fighters, a move that falls short of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's goal of “total destruction” of the militant group. is not far behind.
The confidential report is also said to have revealed that Hamas still has enough ammunition to continue attacking Israel and the Israeli military for months, potentially leaving Israel in a quagmire for a long time. Concerns about war are growing.
The apparent slow progress, the fact that Hamas's top commander has not yet been captured or killed, and the collective trauma of the approximately 130 missing Israeli hostages have contributed to growing anti-government anger in Israel. is encouraging.
Hamas killed about 1,300 people, mostly civilians, and took 240 others hostage in a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7.
Relatives of those detained by Hamas continue to protest, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prioritize their release over the potentially impossible goal of destroying Hamas. And the still relatively small anti-war movement is also demonstrating, horrified by the toll in Gaza, one of the most violent and destructive military operations in recent history.
Most Israelis rally around their country's flag, but not their prime minister. According to recent opinion polls, only 15% of the public believe that he should remain prime minister even after the war ends.
There were protests against the Netanyahu government in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
How that ends is a subject of growing disagreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's Western allies. After meeting with US President Joe Biden for the first time in almost a month, the Israeli prime minister reiterated his disapproval of a future Palestinian state.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he said Israel “must maintain security control over the entire western region.” [River] “Jordan'' includes the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Throughout his political career, Netanyahu has been a fierce opponent of a Palestinian state. But the increasingly unpopular prime minister has now repeatedly claimed that he aligns himself with the majority opinion in the country, which is too frightened of attack to oppose an independent Palestinian state. He seems to be strengthening his view that he feels it.
His apparent fight for political survival has put him at odds with enraged Israeli allies. They hope the bloodshed will force both sides to engage in meaningful diplomacy over a sustainable two-state solution.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps earlier told the BBC that Netanyahu's stance was “disappointing”. The White House said the United States and Israel “see things clearly differently.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres went further, calling the refusal to accept a Palestinian state “totally unacceptable.” It added that it would “prolong indefinitely a conflict that poses a major threat to world peace and security.”
