August 11, 2025
Our goal is not to occupy Gaza. Our goal is to free Gaza from Hamas terrorists.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a social media post Sunday after announcing a new military offensive in Gaza. Israel seeks to control Gaza City and dismantle “central camps” in Gaza, which shelter over a half million people displaced by the war.
Why It Matters: The new offensive extends Israeli military force beyond previously stated target zones focused on the strongholds of terrorist group Hamas. Officials have not disclosed specific camp targets, but the “central camps” serve as refugee camps in central Gaza. Different countries and organizations continue raising concerns over conditions in Gaza. Ramesh Rajasingham, with the U.N. humanitarian office, said, “This is no longer a looming hunger crisis; this is starvation. Humanitarian conditions are beyond horrific. We have frankly run out of words to describe it.”
Also on Sunday: Israel claimed responsibility for targeting an individual who Israel says was “the head of a Hamas terrorist cell and advanced rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF troops”; the media organization Al Jazeera calls this killing a targeted assassination of a beloved journalist and father of two. The network claims five journalists total were killed in the strike. *Context: Israel does not allow international journalists into Gaza, so claims from both sides remain difficult to verify.
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by Emily Hooker, based in Texas
