March 22, 2025 (EIRNS)—The Israelis are continuing to pound Gaza with the apparent intention of driving the Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip. After retaking part of the Netzarim Corridor that divides Gaza’s north from south, Israeli troops moved on March 20 toward the northern town of Beit Lahiya and the southern border city of Rafah, reported AP. The military said it had resumed enforcing a blockade on northern Gaza, including Gaza City.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said March 21 that Israel would carry out operations in Gaza “with increasing intensity until the hostages are released by Hamas.”
“The more Hamas continues its refusal to release the kidnapped, the more territory it will lose to Israel,” Katz said.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said the situation in Gaza is grave, concerning huge reductions in aid supplies. “This is the longest period since the start of conflict in October 2023 that no supplies whatsoever have entered Gaza,” UNRWA’s Sam Rose told reporters from central Gaza, reported Al Jazeera. “The progress we made as an aid system over the last six weeks of the ceasefire is being reversed.”
