The space for compromise seemed to be closing rather than opening.
As mediators pressed for a ceasefire and Hamas signaled acceptance of a staged truce framework, Israel chose instead to mobilize 60,000 reservists and authorize a military operation to seize Gaza City — a deliberate act that speaks to how deeply the logic of war has displaced the logic of negotiation. With over 62,000 Palestinians killed and 49 hostages still held, the conflict now enters its second year not with resolution on the horizon, but with international alarm growing and the space for compromise visibly narrowing. History will note that the machinery of escalation was set in motion at the very moment a door appeared to open.
- Israel's defence minister approved a plan to conquer Gaza City and called up 60,000 reservists — not despite ceasefire talks, but in direct defiance of their momentum.
- Hamas, which had accepted a 60-day truce with staggered hostage releases, responded with fury, accusing Netanyahu of sabotaging peace and treating the lives of Israeli hostages as expendable.
- Netanyahu neither convened his security cabinet nor acknowledged the proposal, instead ordering the military to accelerate operations against what his office called the last terrorist strongholds.
- On the ground, thousands fled eastern Gaza City neighborhoods as strikes killed at least 25 people in a single day, with the Zeitoun district described as largely leveled.
- France warned of permanent regional war, Germany rejected the escalation, and Israel simultaneously approved new West Bank settlements — each move compounding the diplomatic wreckage.
- With 27 of the remaining 49 hostages presumed dead and fundamental positions hardened on both sides, the architecture of any lasting agreement appears to be collapsing in real time.
On a Wednesday timed to send an unmistakable signal, Israel's defence minister authorized a military operation to seize Gaza City and mobilized roughly 60,000 reserve troops — just as mediators were pressing hardest for a ceasefire and just days after Hamas had accepted a new truce framework. Hamas responded with fury, calling the move a flagrant rejection of peace and naming Netanyahu as the true obstacle to any deal.
The proposal Hamas had accepted was specific: a 60-day halt to fighting, with 10 hostages and 18 bodies released in a first phase, and remaining captives to follow during the same window while negotiators worked toward a permanent end to the war. Qatar noted the framework was nearly identical to one Israel had previously agreed to. Yet Netanyahu called no security cabinet meeting to discuss it. His office simply ordered the military to accelerate operations, without acknowledging the proposal at all.
In Gaza City, the human cost was already plain. Thousands were fleeing eastern neighborhoods. A 64-year-old resident described the Zeitoun district as largely leveled. Civil defence reported at least 25 people killed across the territory that day alone. Of the 49 hostages still held in Gaza, the Israeli military said 27 were presumed dead — a toll set against the broader figure of at least 62,122 Palestinians killed over nearly two years of offensive, the vast majority civilians.
International condemnation mounted swiftly. Germany rejected the escalation. France's Macron warned the offensive could only end in catastrophe and drag the region into permanent war. On the same day the military operation was approved, Israel also greenlit a major West Bank settlement project, drawing condemnation from the Palestinian Authority and further darkening regional prospects.
Two brief truces over the course of the war had each produced hostage releases in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, but the fundamental positions had only hardened since. Netanyahu demanded all hostages released at once; Hamas and its partners proposed a staggered approach designed to keep both sides engaged. With a new military phase now underway, the distance between those positions — and the cost of that distance — continued to grow.
On Wednesday, Israel's defence minister signed off on a military operation to seize Gaza City and mobilized roughly 60,000 reserve troops to carry it out. The timing was deliberate and pointed: it came just as mediators were pushing hard for a ceasefire, and just days after Hamas had signaled acceptance of a new truce framework. The message was unmistakable. Hamas responded with fury, calling the move a flagrant rejection of peace efforts and naming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the real impediment to any deal—someone, they said, who did not care whether Israeli hostages lived or died.
The ceasefire proposal that Hamas had accepted was specific and staged. It called for an initial 60-day halt to fighting, with 10 hostages and 18 bodies released from Gaza in the first phase. The remaining captives would follow in a second exchange during that same 60-day window, while negotiators worked toward a permanent end to the war. Qatar, one of the mediators shepherding these talks, said the framework was nearly identical to an earlier version Israel itself had already agreed to. Yet Netanyahu had not called a security cabinet meeting to discuss it. His office issued a statement instead, saying he had ordered the military to accelerate operations against what it called the last terrorist strongholds, without naming a timeline or acknowledging the proposal at all.
On the ground in Gaza City, the human toll was already visible. Mustafa Qazzaat, who heads the emergency committee for the Gaza municipality, described conditions as catastrophic. Large numbers of people were fleeing the eastern neighbourhoods. A 64-year-old resident named Anis Daloul said the Israeli military had leveled most buildings in the Zeitoun district and displaced thousands. An Israeli military official told reporters that the new phase would be a gradual, precise, targeted operation in and around Gaza City, including areas where forces had not yet operated. On that single Wednesday, Gaza's civil defence agency reported at least 25 people killed across the territory from Israeli strikes and fire. The Israeli military said it had killed 10 Hamas militants in the south while repelling an attack, though verification was impossible—media restrictions and access difficulties meant no independent confirmation of casualty figures was available.
The numbers that could be tallied told their own story. Of 251 hostages taken during Hamas's October 2023 attack that ignited the war, 49 remained in Gaza. Twenty-seven of those, the Israeli military said, were dead. That initial attack killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians. Israel's nearly two-year offensive had killed at least 62,122 Palestinians, the vast majority of them civilians, according to figures from Gaza's health ministry—numbers the United Nations considers reliable.
International pressure was mounting. Germany said it rejected the escalation. French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the offensive could only end in catastrophe for both peoples and would drag the region into permanent war. Yet on the same day the military operation was approved, Israel also greenlit a major settlement project in the West Bank, in territory the international community has said threatens any future Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority condemned it in the strongest terms, saying it deepened division.
The war had now stretched nearly two years. There had been two brief truces during that span, each resulting in hostage releases in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. But the fundamental positions had hardened. Netanyahu insisted on all hostages released at once and according to Israeli conditions for ending the war. Hamas and its negotiating partners had put forward a staggered approach designed to keep both sides at the table. And now, with 60,000 reservists mobilized and a new military phase underway, the space for compromise seemed to be closing rather than opening.
Citas Notables
The situation is catastrophic, with large numbers fleeing eastern neighbourhoods— Mustafa Qazzaat, head of Gaza municipality emergency committee
Netanyahu is the real obstacle to any agreement and does not care about the lives of Israeli hostages— Hamas statement
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would Israel approve a major military operation right when ceasefire talks seemed to be moving forward?
Because Netanyahu's government doesn't see them as moving forward at all. Hamas accepted a framework, but Netanyahu hasn't even called a meeting to discuss it. The military operation is a way of saying: we're not negotiating, we're winning.
But doesn't that guarantee the hostages stay in Gaza longer?
That's what Hamas is saying. They're accusing him of not caring about Israeli hostages. Whether that's true or a negotiating tactic, the effect is the same—it hardens positions on both sides.
What's the actual military goal here?
To take Gaza City, which is described as the last major stronghold. But it's also the most densely populated part of Gaza. The operation is being called gradual and targeted, but the scale—60,000 reservists—suggests something much larger.
And the people living there?
They're fleeing. Thousands displaced in a single day. The municipality's emergency chief called it catastrophic. Most buildings in some neighbourhoods are already destroyed.
Is there any chance this operation changes the ceasefire math?
It could go either way. It might force Hamas back to the table, or it might convince them there's nothing to negotiate with. Right now it looks like Netanyahu is betting on military victory rather than a deal.
What about the international pressure?
It's real but it hasn't moved Netanyahu yet. Germany rejected the escalation, Macron warned of permanent war. But Israel approved West Bank settlements the same day, which suggests the government isn't particularly concerned with international opinion right now.