Israel increased military operations around Gaza City on Friday, 29 August. This ended temporary pauses that had allowed aid deliveries. Meanwhile, authorities recovered the body of Ilan Weiss, a hostage held by Hamas.
The Israeli government aims to gain full control of the Gaza Strip, starting with Gaza City. Its goal is to dismantle Hamas after nearly 23 months of conflict. Consequently, the offensive has drawn international attention due to severe food shortages.
“The local tactical pause in military activity will not apply to the area of Gaza City, which constitutes a dangerous combat zone,” the Israeli military stated.
Operations around Gaza City have intensified this past week. Therefore, civilians have been urged to move south. Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, said forces are striking the city’s outskirts with increasing intensity and will “deepen our strikes.”
Israel introduced daily ten-hour pauses in fighting and opened new aid corridors in late July. These measures followed months of restricted humanitarian deliveries. Furthermore, images of malnourished children in Gaza raised international concern.
Last week, a UN-affiliated hunger monitoring body reported famine conditions in Gaza. However, Israel rejected this assessment.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, five people, including two children, died from malnutrition over the past 24 hours. This raised the total deaths from starvation since the start of the conflict to 322, mostly in recent weeks.
Casualties and broader conflict context
Local health authorities reported 48 deaths from Israeli military actions in Gaza on Friday. Reuters footage showed bodies in white bags outside al-Shifa Hospital, with relatives visibly grieving.
Israel confirmed it killed Muhammad Abd al-Aziz Abu Zubaida, whom it described as Gaza’s most senior ISIS operative. However, ISIS-linked groups have not played a significant role in Gaza for years.
Israel recovered Weiss’s body and that of another individual whose identity has not been released. Israeli officials said Weiss, in his mid-fifties and a member of a local emergency response team, was killed on the day of the initial Hamas attack.
Gaza health authorities estimate that Israel’s military campaign has killed over 63,000 people, mostly civilians.
Meanwhile, the US State Department announced it would deny or revoke visas for members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the Palestinian Authority ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in September. The department said their actions undermine peace prospects. The PA and PLO are recognised internationally as the legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people and maintain limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank under agreements with Israel.
