Click to see full-size image. (Israeli Defense Forces)
Israel’s large-scale offensive in the Gaza Strip, codenamed “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” which aimed at completely defeating the Hamas Movement is still ongoing.
On May 28, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that dozens of targets were struck by the Israeli Air Force across Gaza in the past 48 hours.
Among the targets was a rocket launcher used to fire projectiles at the Kissufim area and troops operating in the Strip earlier in the week, the military said, adding that the targets also included “terror operatives,” buildings used by “terror groups,” anti-tank launch posts, weapon depots, and other infrastructure.
The military also said that troops of the 98th Division killed several fighters planning to carry out a sniper and anti-tank missile attack in southern Gaza.
The next day, May 29, the IDF announced that the Gaza Division and the Yahalom combat engineering unit had demolished a Hamas attack tunnel in the southern part of the Strip.
The tunnel was hundreds of meters long and had several exits, some of them rigged with explosives, according to the military.
During the efforts to uncover and demolish the tunnel, Israeli troops spotted a cell of operatives emerging from one of the shafts, the IDF said, adding that the troops killed the cell.
Gaza’s health authorities said on May 28 that 79 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the last 24 hours. On May 29, at least 37 deaths were reported. It’s worth noting that the death toll from the Israeli war on the Palestinian side has already exceeded 54,000.
Meanwhile, the IDF has only lost two soldiers since the start of Operation Gideon’s Chariots, with several others being wounded.
Israel launched the offensive earlier this month after calling up tens of thousands of reservists. Currently, five divisions are operating in Gaza. The IDF says that it aims to occupy 75 percent of Gaza within two months. More than two million Palestinians will be crammed in three isolated small zones in the southern, central and northern parts of the Strip.
Despite the escalation, an Israeli official confirmed to The Times of Israel on May 29 that a proposal from United States special envoy Steve Witkoff that gain momentum in recent day would see the release of ten living hostages held in Gaza and the return of the bodies of 18 deceased hostages, in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire.
In the proposal, the United Nations would resume providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. The text of the agreement will not contain an Israeli promise to end the war, according to the unnamed official.
It is still unclear if Israel would accept the proposal, which will very much secure the return of around half of the 58 hostages still in Gaza.
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