Israel is planning s largescale assault on Gaza despite ceasefires in place, remarks from officials and recent reports indicate.
Despite the October 2025 ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Israel has continued to launch deadly attacks on Gaza almost every day, killing at least 738 people since then.
However, since March Israel’s attention has been focused on its wars on Iran and Lebanon.
But with a truce in place with Lebanon since 16 April, reports in Israeli media suggest that Tel Aviv is mulling resuming its onslaught on Gaza.
The potential decision comes amid Israeli reports that Hamas is growing in strength in Gaza. Israeli is continuing to target and kill people who approach the so-called Yellow Line demarcation in the Strip.
On Friday, the Hebrew-language Haaretz outlet reported that statements from Israeli officials indicate that the government is preparing the ground for a new attack on Gaza.
It said that if US President Donald Trump decides to end the war with Iran and the truce in Lebanon holds, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will seek to keep the offensive ongoing on other fronts, particularly as the October 2026 Israeli elections approach.
Netanyahu’s opponents have accused him of failing to achieve “absolute victory” in Gaza, and according to Haaretz, this is one of the reasons why he would want to restart the war.
The push for the resumption of the attack on Gaza is supported by many officers in the Israeli army, the Israeli newspaper added, pointing out that Israel has already launched deadly air attacks on the enclave far beyond the Yellow-Line.
Haaretz noted the high death toll from these attacks, saying that many in the Israeli military are waiting for a “mistake” from Hamas in order to justify the resumption of the war.
Extremist Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich has also called on Netanyahu to order the army to prepare for a full occupation of Gaza, including refugee camps in its centre.
According to Haaretz, Hamas’s continued refusal to disarm despite Trump’s ultimatum could be one of the reasons Israel uses to launch the offensive on Gaza.
Hamas has repeatedly said it will not disarm unless Israel fully withdraws from the enclave.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 72,000 people since October 2023 and levelled entire neighbourhoods. The war has also displaced over 90 percent of the population and pushed it into a deep humanitarian crisis.
