Israel Enters “Phase Two” Of Gaza War — With Same Disregard For Civilian Deaths

-Analysis-

Last week, a widow named Ibtisam, 57, was killed in a nighttime Israeli airstrike on the Yabna refugee camp in central Rafah. She was killed along with her four grandchildren, daughter and her husband, who had been displaced from Gaza City earlier in the war.

Ibtisam’s husband had died when she was young, leaving her to bring up two daughters and a son. She didn’t marry again, and struggled to raise her children.

The deadly attack last week was the second time Ibtisam’s house had been bombed. Two months ago, she had survived, though a displaced relative staying with her was killed. Now it was her turn, along with most of her family.

The war, which broke out on Oct. 7 after Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel, has killed more than 10,000 Palestinian women, according to the United Nations. That is just one terrible statistic in a war that continues unabated, despite what some have been reporting. On Tuesday, the Health Ministry said the bodies of 32 people killed in Israel’s bombardment were brought to Gaza’s hospitals in the past 24 hours.

In total, more than 34,100 Palestinians have been killed and over 77,000 were wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The ministry didn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, but says over two-thirds of the fatalities were women and children.

The ministry has repeatedly called for the evacuation of thousands of patients and wounded for treatment out of the war-torn enclave. The war has already crippled the healthcare system and left more than a million on the brink of famine.

This comes despite the claim that the pace of the war slowed down after Israel’s military wrapped up its ground offensive earlier this month on Khan Younis, Gaza’s second largest city. The four-month offensive left vast destruction in Khan Younis, with most of the city, especially its eastern parts, turned into rubble.

​War machine

The war has yet to subside, continuing with different means and methods. It has entered the second phase, according to Israeli analysts who say the focus is now on specific targets. The war machine is now presented like a police force trying to organize people’s daily lives, prevent chaos, and protect and secure aid deliveries.

But Israel’s aim is clearly at eliminating Hamas’ civilian capabilities, including the civil police. Last week an airstrike killed seven police officers in Gaza City.

And like the first stage, the bombings — mostly airstrikes — have also targeted people’s homes and civilian infrastructure.

When Ibtsam was killed on April 16 along with her family members in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, 13 other Palestinians were killed in the urban Moghazi refugee camp in central Gaza. They included 7 children. Also on the same day, 13 others were killed in Sheikh Radwan in Gaza City.

The killings took place as the global attention focused on how Israel would respond to Iran’s missile-and-drone attack on Israel.

Have no doubt, Israel is prolonging its war on Gaza. Its military has focused its bombing campaign on central Gaza, especially the urban refugee camp of Nuseirat. The Israeli Defense Forces are also continuing their threats to invade Rafah, which has become a tool to pressure U.S. President Joe Biden. Facing a tough election year, Biden is forced to deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a spoiled child.

Iranian distraction

The neighboring Arab countries are helpless, unable to pressure Netanyahu to stop the genocidal war, although they helped repel Iran’s attack on Israel.

More and more Palestinians are convinced that genocide is the real goal of Israel’s war in Gaza. They view that the war has been prolonged for the personal interests of Netanyahu and Israel military leaders, who will be held accountable for their failure to prevent Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7.

The so-called “free world” mobilized to protect Israel from the Iranian response. They urged Netanyahu not to respond to Iran’s attack, out of fear of expanding the conflict.

The implicit message for Netanyahu was: “Now you can go back to your genocide against Gaza.”