Netanyahu orders major Gaza offensive

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered an immediate, massive air and ground offensive in Gaza. It is not yet clear when and where the attack will be carried out, Israeli officials said.
The government said the decision was in response to Hamas’s violations of a ceasefire agreement. Israel claims that Hamas has yet to hand over the bodies of 13 Israeli prisoners held in Gaza, a clear violation of the agreement.
Hamas, on the other hand, has said that specialist teams and heavy equipment are needed to recover the bodies from the rubble. Although Israel has allowed limited such assistance in recent days, not all the bodies have been recovered. The mediating countries, Israelis and US officials – including former President Donald Trump – knew in advance that recovering the bodies of the prisoners buried under the rubble would be extremely difficult.
Under the current ceasefire agreement, Hamas was supposed to return the bodies of the prisoners in exchange for a partial suspension of military operations. However, the situation has become tense again as the recovery of the bodies has become more complicated.
Observers have expressed concern that Netanyahu’s order for a new offensive will further worsen the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Analysts say the failure to recover the bodies of the prisoners is being used as a pretext for an Israeli military response, making the future of the ceasefire even more uncertain.
Source: Al Jazeera