Arab news sources reported a significant escalation in Israeli military operations in the northern Gaza Strip overnight Friday. According to the reports, IDF forces conducted artillery barrages, naval shelling, and airstrikes across multiple areas in northern Gaza, including a concentrated wave of attacks in the Jabaliya region.
The Israel Air Force reportedly struck dozens of targets using heavy munitions throughout the Strip. Residents described powerful explosions that caused buildings to shake.
Medical sources in Gaza stated that more than 127 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since Thursday morning. The offensive involved coordinated action by multiple branches of the Israel Defense Forces operating simultaneously across the area.
غزة تحترق عن بكرة ابيها بكل من فيها.. pic.twitter.com/d0BxTdUcBS
— MO (@Abu_Salah9) May 15, 2025
STAYING AHEAD OF TRUMP
The IDF is intensifying its preparations for the next phase of its operation in Gaza, with the Air Force launching a wave of extensive strikes across the Strip over the past 24 hours. The attacks are part of a broader campaign to pave the way for a planned ground maneuver, the timing of which has not yet been disclosed, but its aim is clear: establish facts on the ground before President Donald Trump––promoting US interests with the wealthy Arab countries in the region––declares peace on earth and love for all mankind.
According to the IDF, more than 100 airstrikes have been carried out against Hamas and Islamic Jihad infrastructure. A military source confirmed to Maariv Thursday night that these operations are part of the Air Force’s preparatory actions for upcoming combat activity.
Arab media outlet Al-Hadath reported widespread strikes in northern Gaza, involving missile boats, helicopters, and fighter jets. They described the campaign as a “large-scale military operation,” with reports of ground forces entering Jabaliya.
In recent days, the Southern Command and IDF divisions tasked with the maneuver have supplied hundreds of targets for the Air Force to engage across the Gaza Strip. These include command centers, suspected terrorist hideouts, tunnel systems, mined zones, weapons caches, and key Hamas facilities.
Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered that the maneuver be conducted under heavy covering fire from the Air Force, Navy, and Artillery. Ground forces will advance with robust aerial and artillery support, forming what the military refers to as a “fire formation”—a coordinated barrage designed to suppress enemy threats. This strategy is already being employed in the Rafah area, where troops receive rapid airstrike support, typically within minutes of request.
STARVE THE ENEMY
Since March 2, humanitarian aid to Gaza has been halted—a move aimed at pressuring Hamas into making concessions. Hamas responded on Thursday by declaring that the resumption of humanitarian assistance to the devastated territory was “the minimum requirement” for engaging in negotiations.
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, stated on Thursday that while Israel will not finance a proposed U.S.-led humanitarian initiative in the Gaza Strip, it will cooperate to facilitate its implementation.
In parallel, Bassem Naim, a senior member of Hamas’s Political Bureau, reiterated that the restoration of humanitarian aid is a fundamental prerequisite for any negotiations with Israel. “The minimum for a favorable and constructive negotiating environment is to oblige the government of Netanyahu to open the crossings and allow the entry of humanitarian, food, and medical aid,” Naim said.
The terrorist group also rejected any suggestion of external control over Gaza, stating that the enclave is “not for sale.” The comments came just hours after President Trump, during a visit to the Gulf States, reiterated his proposal to transform Gaza into a so-called “freedom zone” under the new administration.
“I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good… let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone,” Trump said during the Qatar leg of his Middle East tour, adding he would be “proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone.”
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, speaking at the United Nations during a “Nakba Day” commemoration of the 1948 flight of some 700,000 Arabs from Israel, hoping to return with the victorious Arab armies, warned against the possibility of a new mass displacement of Gaza residents.
His remarks come as the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate. According to UN estimates, approximately 70% of the Gaza Strip is now either designated by Israel as a no-go zone or placed under evacuation orders.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry claims that 2,876 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18. The ministry places the total death toll in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas-led massacre in Israel at 53,010. While these figures cannot be independently verified and include both civilians and combatants, military analysts estimate that Israel has killed approximately 18,000 Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives.
This suggests an approximate 2:1 civilian-to-combatant casualty ratio—an unusually low ratio by historical standards. In many modern conflicts, civilians outnumber combatant casualties by much larger margins.
