Overview

• Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir has formally approved the framework for a new military phase aimed at taking control of Gaza City and adjacent refugee camps, though no timetable was released.
• Israeli airstrikes and tank advances have intensified in Gaza City’s Zeitoun and Tal al-Hawa neighborhoods, with local civil defense and medical sources reporting at least 18 civilian deaths including children.
• The declared objectives of the campaign include disarming Hamas, freeing the remaining 49 Israeli hostages, demilitarizing Gaza, ensuring Israeli security control, and installing a non-Israeli civilian administration.
• Hamas dispatched a delegation to Cairo for preliminary ceasefire discussions as the United Nations and multiple countries condemned the operation, warning of severe regional repercussions and humanitarian collapse.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces mounting domestic pressure over the fate of the hostages, fueled by protests from bereaved families and retired military personnel urging an end to the conflict.