Palestinians leave the cities of Jabalia and Beit Lahia in northern Gaza and head toward Gaza City as Israeli strikes continue across the besieged Palestinian territory, May 17, 2025. (Credit: Bashar Taleb / AFP)
The Israeli army announced on Sunday the launch of "extensive ground operations in the north and south of the Gaza Strip," where at least 50 Palestinians, including children, have been killed in new shelling, according to rescue workers.
The announcement comes a day after the army intensified its air and ground campaign in Gaza, claiming it aimed at securing the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and defeating the Palestinian movement. The escalation has been criticized internationally.
As indirect negotiations are held in Doha to secure a cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he was open to a deal that includes ending his army’s offensive in the Gaza Strip. However, Netanyahu also stated that any agreement must include the “exile” of the Islamist movement Hamas and the “disarmament” of the besieged and war-torn Palestinian territory, according to a statement from his office.
His comments came a day after the Israeli army announced it was intensifying its air and ground campaign in Gaza to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and to defeat the group. The escalation has drawn international criticism. The war in Gaza began following an unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, prompting a massive Israeli military response that has since killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
“The negotiating team in Doha is working to exhaust all possibilities for a deal,” Netanyahu’s office said, “whether through the plan proposed by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff or through a cease-fire that would include the release of all hostages, the exile of Hamas terrorists, and the disarmament of Gaza.”
This marks a shift in tone from early May when the Israeli government approved a plan for the “conquest” of Gaza and the relocation of its population, appearing to dismiss the possibility of negotiations.
On Saturday, the same day Israeli forces escalated their operations, Hamas — which has ruled Gaza since 2007 — announced it was resuming indirect negotiations with Israel in Qatar without preconditions, according to the Gulf state mediator.
'Nothing but dust'
Israel resumed its bombardments of Gaza on March 18 after talks to extend a two-month truce collapsed. Since March 2, Israel has also blocked the entry of vital humanitarian aid for Gaza’s 2.4 million residents. On Sunday, fresh Israeli strikes killed dozens, according to Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal, who reported “33 martyrs, more than half of them children.”
According to Bassal, 22 Palestinians were killed in strikes on displaced persons’ tents in al-Mawassi (south), seven in an airstrike on a home in Jabalia (north), and four in Al-Zawayda (central Gaza) and Khan Younis (south). At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, AFP footage showed bodies wrapped in white sheets bearing names of the deceased, lined up on the floor as grieving relatives wept nearby.
In Al-Mawassi, Palestinians tried to recover what little was left from the wreckage of their tents. “I heard the explosions then the windows and stones fell on me. There was nothing but dust,” said Saleh Hamida after a neighboring home was hit in Al-Zawayda.
Hospitals out of service
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Israeli forces had tightened their siege, firing heavily around the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, which prevented patients, medical staff, and supplies from entering — effectively forcing the hospital to shut down.
“All public hospitals in the Gaza governorate, in the north, are now out of service,” the ministry said.
International outcry and protests
Following the expansion of Israel’s offensive, international calls to end the war intensified. “The massacre in Gaza must stop,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. “Enough,” declared Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. “An entire people is being subjected to overwhelming and disproportionate military force,” said European Council President Antonio Costa.
In Tel Aviv, a large crowd of Israelis, once again, protested against Netanyahu on Saturday night.
A protester Zahiro Shahar Mor, nephew of Avraham Munder, a hostage who was killed, said: “589 days of hell since the Oct. 7 massacre. And instead of bringing all the hostages home, Netanyahu is dragging us into a pointless political war that will lead to the death of the hostages and our soldiers,”
The Oct. 7 attack killed 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Of the 251 people abducted during the assault, 57 remain in captivity in Gaza, with 34 declared dead by the Israeli army.
In response, Israel launched a relentless military campaign that has killed at least 53,339 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the latest figures from the Health Ministry, which the United Nations considers credible.
