Israel Announces Expanded Ground Offensive in Gaza

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israel announced the launch of a new ground offensive in Gaza on Friday, April 4, 2025. Rescue workers reported that the Israeli military operation had resulted in the deaths of at least 30 individuals across the Palestinian territory since the early hours of that day.

According to Arab News, Israel's objective in seizing parts of Gaza is a strategy intended to compel Hamas to release the hostages still in their captivity.

Concurrently, Israel has intensified its attacks on Lebanon and Syria. They conducted a raid on the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, which resulted in the death of a Hamas commander and his son, who was also a member of the militant group's armed wing.

In Gaza, the Israeli military stated that ground forces had initiated operations in the Shujaiya area "in order to expand the security zone."

Elena Helles, a medic at Gaza's Nasser Hospital, reported that a single Israeli raid on Khan Yunis resulted in the deaths of at least 25 people.

"The situation is very dangerous, and there is death coming at us from every direction," Helles said as cited by Arab News.

Helles also added that she and her family were trapped in her sister's residence in Shujaiya.

Defense Minister Israel Katz stated on Wednesday that Israel would increase its military presence within the Gaza Strip to “destroy and clear the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure.”

Minister Katz indicated that the operation would secure a significant area that would be incorporated into Israel’s security zone. He did not specify the extent of this territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that his army was dividing Gaza and “seizing territory” to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining Israeli hostages who were captured during the militant group’s October 2023 offensive against Israel, which triggered the ongoing Gaza conflict.

On Thursday, Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that at least 31 people, including children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a school that was being used as a shelter for displaced Palestinians.

Agency spokesman Mahmoud Bassal stated that women and children were among the deceased, while six people were still missing following the attack on the Dar Al-Arqam School in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, located northeast of Gaza City.

“One of the missing was a pregnant woman who was expecting twins,” he said.

In response, the Israeli military stated that it had struck a "Hamas command and control center in the Gaza City area." It remained unclear whether this was the same strike that impacted the school.

"It was like Judgment Day. They bombed us with missiles and everything went dark. We started looking for our children and our belongings but everything was gone. We couldn’t find our children," recounted Raghda Al-Sharafa, one of the displaced civilians who had sought shelter in the school buildings.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported that 1,249 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since Israel resumed its intensive bombardment on March 18, bringing the total death toll since the genocide began to 50,609.

The Israeli military stated on Thursday that it had struck more than 600 "terror targets" across the Gaza Strip since the resumption of hostilities.

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