Israel’s military has announced the launch of a major offensive aimed at defeating Hamas and securing the freedom of remaining hostages in Gaza.
The Israeli Defense Forces said on its Hebrew X account that it had mobilised troops for “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” to seize “strategic areas” of the strip.
Hamas-run civil defence and health ministry officials say Israeli attacks have killed around 250 people since Thursday.
Israel imposed an aid blockade on the strip in March after the breakdown of a two-month ceasefire. Donald Trump, the US president, said on Friday that “a lot of people were starving” in Gaza.
The Israeli military did not use the operational name in similar posts on its English-language X account.
It said it would not stop operating “until Hamas is no longer a threat and all our hostages are home”, and had “struck over 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip” in 24 hours.