Egypt Daily News – The Israeli army announced the start of its large-scale operation in Gaza, which it named “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” aimed at taking control of strategic areas in the Strip, according to a post by the Israeli army on the platform X.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said that 153 people were killed and 459 injured were brought to hospitals in the Strip within 24 hours. Since dawn on Saturday, at least 10 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes carried out by the Israeli Air Force. An Israeli drone targeted a tent sheltering displaced people in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central part of the Strip, causing a number of injuries, including among children and women.
On Friday, the Israeli army issued orders for residents of the Strip to move southward after heavy shelling that included Beit Lahia and Jabalia camp. Residents of Khan Younis in the southern part of the Strip reported seeing Israeli tanks advancing toward them.
Since Thursday—the last day of the U.S. president’s tour of the Middle East—Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed around 300 Palestinians, according to the Civil Defense and the Ministry of Health in Gaza. This brings the total number of deaths since the beginning of the war on October 7, 2023, to more than 53,000 people. Israeli military sources had recently stated that the wide-scale operation would begin after U.S. President Donald Trump completed his visit to the Middle East. The United Nations has warned that famine is looming in Gaza, as Israel has blocked aid deliveries to the Strip for 77 days.
The government media office in Gaza said that “the deliberate food blockade has led to widespread famine across all areas of the Gaza Strip, with the number of victims from hunger and malnutrition rising to 57 documented deaths, most of them children. In addition, death rates from diseases linked to lack of food and essential supplies have increased, and dozens of food items have disappeared from markets and aid centers.”
