On Wednesday, Israel resumed ground operations in the Gaza Strip, starting by seizing some key sites in central and southern Gaza. This comes after the resumption of bombardments of Gaza over the last few hours by units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The gloves, it seems, are off.

The Israeli military said Wednesday that it had launched “targeted ground activities” in Gaza, partially recapturing a key area in the territory, a day after launching an aerial bombardment of the Strip that shattered the two-month-old ceasefire with Hamas.

The operation followed Israel’s renewed bombardment of Gaza the day before, shattering the fragile ceasefire with Hamas. Israel accused Hamas of “repeatedly” refusing to release hostages and rejecting offers from mediators. Hamas, in turn, blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of unilaterally upending the truce and putting hostages “at risk of an unknown fate.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Wednesday that its troops “began targeted ground activities in the central and southern Gaza Strip in order to expand the security zone and to create a partial buffer between northern and southern Gaza.”

“As part of the ground activities, the troops expanded their control further to the center of the Netzarim Corridor,” the military said.

The Netzarim Corridor is an important strategic target due to its location and status as a key feature that separates northern Gaza and the southern portion, and which divides Gaza City in half. Cutting Gaza in half limits Hamas's ability to move personnel and supplies from place to place, and while we do not yet know Israel's full intent, this could well be the first phase of a larger operation to take much, if not all, of Gaza under IDF control.

The IDF operation is in response to the refusal by Hamas to release the remaining Oct 7th hostages.

 An Israeli official said Tuesday that the airstrikes in Gaza were the first phase in a series of escalatory military actions aimed at pressuring Hamas into releasing more hostages, marking a return to Netanyahu’s view that military pressure is the most effective way to secure the release of hostages.

So far, the Israeli military has brought just eight living hostages back to Israel, out of 251 taken by Hamas and its allies on October 7, 2023. The vast majority have been released as part of ceasefire deals in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Israel has released many Hamas-affiliated prisoners, many of them convicted criminals, in return for each Oct. 7th hostage returned, and many of the hostages have been returned in coffins.

SEE ALSO: Standing With Israel: Rejecting the Dangerous Double Standards

CEASEFIRE OVER—Israel Pounding Hamas Targets After Hostage Negotiations Fail

Among the hostages returned by Hamas were Shiri Bibas and her sons Kfir (2) and Ariel (5) who were murdered by Hamas while in captivity. There's no need to go into the details of Hamas' barbarity in this instance; that has been publicized well enough, and the details are, to put it mildly, outrageous. Their horrifying example would, sadly, indicate that there may be only a small chance of extracting any more living hostages from Gaza - which may explain Israel's renewed offensive on the ground.

As of this writing, Israel has not stated an end goal to their latest action in Gaza, but we can assume that degradation, if not the outright elimination, of Hamas is one of the goals.

Once again: There will be no peaceful resolution to the situation in Gaza until Hamas is no longer a factor.

Israel is at the forefront in this clash of civilization vs. barbarity. They are fighting the good fight - and you can help us to keep bringing you the latest, unvarnished truth on what's happening in Israel and Gaza by upgrading to a VIP account. Just use promo code FIGHT, and you'll get a 60 percent discount - and access to tons of great content.