Israel Officially Launches Ground Offensive in Southern Gaza... "Aiming to Eliminate Hamas Key Leaders"

Israel Officially Announces "Military Operation in Southern Gaza Strip"
"Focusing Attacks Targeting Shinwar and Deif"
"Innocent Palestinian Residents"... US Urges Israel to Exercise Restraint

Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas failed to agree on extending the ceasefire and resumed hostilities. With neither side showing signs of returning to the negotiating table, there are concerns that the conflict could become prolonged.

Israel and Hamas were unable to maintain the ceasefire and resumed fighting. On the 3rd (local time), according to Times of Israel (TOI) and others, Herzi Halevi, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), officially announced during a visit to a division in southern Israel that the Israeli military had intensified operations in the southern Gaza Strip.

On the 1st (local time), a photo taken at the Gaza Strip border area in southern Israel shows smoke rising from a building attacked by Israel. The Israeli military resumed fighting after seven days of a temporary ceasefire, accusing the Palestinian armed faction Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Chief of Staff Halevi said, "Yesterday and today, we eliminated Hamas battalion-level and company-level commanders and many fighters," adding, "Yesterday morning, we began the same movements in the southern Gaza Strip." He also emphasized, "The operational intensity in the south will not be less than in the north, nor will it yield fewer results," and stated, "Hamas commanders will encounter the IDF everywhere."

Earlier, on the 24th of last month, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire on the condition of exchanging hostages held by Hamas for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. The ceasefire was extended twice thereafter.

However, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was not extended further. This was due to the failure to reach an agreement on the release of female and child hostages. Israel claimed that Hamas broke the ceasefire by failing to fulfill its promise to release 15 women and 2 children, and military operations in the Gaza Strip resumed from the morning of the 1st. Thus, the temporary ceasefire ended after only seven days.

Professor Park Hyun-do of Sogang University's Euromena Research Institute analyzed that the Israel-Hamas war is in its worst situation. On the 4th, on KBS 1 Radio's "Today," Professor Park said, "The war in the north is over, and everything has concentrated in the south. Residents who were in the north have been pushed to the south, and the south is being attacked," adding, "Israel believes that two key Hamas leaders (Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Deif) are in the southern tunnels and is focusing attacks there."

On the 7th day of the temporary ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas, on the 30th of last month (local time), Israeli soldiers stood on top of a tank at the Gaza Strip border area. Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on the morning of the 1st that rocket alert sirens sounded in the Israeli area adjacent to the Gaza Strip. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

He continued, "When Israel deploys ground forces in the south to dismantle Hamas leadership, civilian casualties will be enormous," and "Likewise, it is not a situation where Israeli ground forces can defeat the enemy without any casualties. Both sides are expected to suffer losses."

Professor Park also explained, "The Netanyahu government has a strong obsession with showing something (such as war achievements) to the public," and "Prime Minister Netanyahu must consider that his political life will end when this war concludes. Even politically, he has no choice but to prolong the war."

In this situation, the United States, Israel's closest ally, also urged restraint on the 3rd, calling for measures to minimize Palestinian casualties. Kamala Harris, Vice President of the U.S. government attending the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention (COP28) held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), pointed out at a local press conference the day before, "Too many innocent Palestinian civilians have died."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also stated at the Reagan Defense Forum that day, "In this kind of fight, the focus is on civilians," and added, "If civilians are sent into the enemy's hands, a tactical victory will become a strategic failure."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.