The Israel Defense Forces announced late Friday night, May 16, that the first phase of its so-called “Gideon’s Chariots” operation had begun, with intense airstrikes and ground forces moving in across Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised the IDF would move in to fully occupy Gaza as soon as President Trump left the Middle East, and that once in, no one could stop its war. The stated objective is to seize and retain total control of Gaza’s territory, drive its inhabitants into a minuscule ghetto near the Egyptian border, where limited food would be distributed under Israeli military control, until all Palestinians are finally driven out of the Gaza Strip entirely.
By the morning of May 17, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that 146 Gazans were known to have been killed in the last day alone. IDF ground troops were reportedly advancing toward Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, deploying heavy artillery fire and airstrikes to cover the advancing troops. Deir al-Balah, according to Times of Israel, was one of the few areas of the Strip which Israeli ground troops had not entered since October 7, 2023. Intensive airstrikes were also reported May 17 in the areas of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, and Jabalia, in the north.
Inside Israel, leading family members of Israeli hostages exploded at the government for launching the new invasion, and endangering the lives of their loved ones held captive. The outcries during the weekly Saturday night anti-government protests were sharp. Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage in Gaza, denounced Netanyahu as “the angel of death” for her son and the others, with his “political war.”
The Arab League nations issued the final statement of the 34th Arab Summit at the end of their summit today, which calls on “the international community, especially influential countries, to assume their moral and legal responsibilities to pressure for an end to the bloodshed and to facilitate the swift entry of humanitarian aid into all affected areas in Gaza.”
These nations urged “political, financial, and legal support” be provided for the March 4, 2025 Arab-Islamic plan for “the recovery and reconstruction in Gaza within a political process leading to Palestinian independence.…” “Any form of displacement, forced migration, or expulsion of Palestinians from their land” are “grave violations of international law, crimes against humanity and acts of ethnic cleansing,” they reminded, condemning “the policies of starvation and scorched earth aimed at forcing Palestinians to leave their land.”
