Macron: new offensive in Gaza will lead to disaster. Israel accelerates

Benjamin Netanyahu accelerates the IDF offensive in Gaza City. The Israeli prime minister announced that he had ordered the army to 'shorten the time frame for the conquest of the last bastions of terror and the defeat of Hamas'. The Times of Israel reported this. The premier also expressed 'profound gratitude to the mobilised reservists, their families, and all IDF soldiers,' his office specified. According to military sources, the army's plans for taking Gaza City will be presented to Netanyahu as early as tomorrow, ahead of the next offensive.

The IDF announced that aircraft from Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Singapore and Indonesia parachuted 154 pallets of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip today. According to the military, each pallet contains several hundred kilograms of food. Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, has no relations with Israel.

The armed wing of Hamas, the al Qassam Brigades, claimed the attack launched this morning and 'lasting several hours' against an Israeli army post in Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, which, according to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), injured three soldiers.

In a statement on Telegram, the al Qassam Brigades reported targeting a "new Israeli army post" and "several 'Merkava 4' type tanks". The militiamen also "targeted several houses where occupation soldiers were entrenched" before "storming the houses and eliminating several soldiers". The al Qassam Brigades also claimed to have 'mortally wounded the commander of a 'Merkava 4' tank', then 'upon the arrival of enemy reinforcements, one of the martyred fighters blew himself up among the soldiers, causing deaths and injuries'.

Berlin 'rejects the escalation' of the Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip. A German government spokesman, Steffen Meyer, told the press today, commenting on Israel's approval of plans for the occupation of Gaza City.

Germany finds it 'increasingly difficult to understand how these actions can lead to the release of all hostages or to a ceasefire', Meyer added, quoted by Deutsche Welle.

"The decision of the Israeli authorities to go ahead with the E1 settlement plan further undermines the two-state solution and constitutes a violation of international law. The EU urges Israel to renounce this decision, stressing its profound implications and the need to consider measures to safeguard the viability of the two-state solution." This was stated by the EU External Action Service.

"The military offensive that Israel is preparing in Gaza can only lead to a real disaster for the two peoples and will drag the region into a permanent war". French President Emmanuel Macron wrote this on X, referring to two phone calls with King Abdallah of Jordan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi. With the two Arab countries, Macron instead presses for 'an international stabilisation mission for Gaza'.

The Israeli army announced plans to call up tens of thousands of reservists for an extended operation in Gaza City. Defence Minister Israel Katz approved the plan, which calls for the deployment of 60,000 reservists and the extension of service to another 20,000. This move comes at a time of international concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where many residents are displaced and risk famine. The operation aims to target the Hamas underground tunnel network, according to an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, ceasefire negotiations continue, with Hamas agreeing to terms, but Israel has not yet responded.

The memorial of the former Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald could deny entry to people wearing the so-called Palestinian keffiyeh. This was ruled by a decision of the Higher Administrative Court of Appeal of Thuringia in Weimar, following a complaint filed by a woman who, wearing the keffiyeh, wanted to protest against current Israeli policies.

The letter-appeal of 80 "modern international Orthodox rabbis", entitled "A call for moral clarity, responsibility and a Jewish-Orthodox response in the face of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza", signed among others by Rabbi David Rosen, for over 30 years international director of religious affairs of the American Jewish comittee, former chief rabbi of Ireland and with solid relations of dialogue with the Vatican, is receiving more and more adhesions by the hour. A copy of the letter was also sent by Rosen to the Vatican, to the office responsible for dialogue with Judaism. "The statement," reads a note on Rosen's own website, "urges the State of Israel to address the widespread famine in Gaza and to denounce extremist settler violence.

In an interview with Fox News, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff reiterated today that President Donald Trump wants "all hostages released" from the Gaza Strip and the war to end "immediately. Trump has been very firm and direct on Trut,' Witkoff said, referring to a post in recent days in which the US president wrote that the hostages would be released 'when Hamas is destroyed'.

"Nahlal rose in place of Mahlul, kibbutz Givat in place of Jibta, Sarid's is where Huneifis used to be. And Kfar Yehushu'a stands on the ruins of Tal al-Shumman," Moshe Dayan explained to students at the Technion in Haifa, almost 50 years ago. "There is not a single place built in this country that did not have an Arab population". In 1947, there were 418 Palestinian villages; three years later, they would disappear from the map, replaced by 161 Jewish settlements.

The Israel Defence Forces reported a 'large-scale' attack in southern Gaza. "This morning," the army reported in a note, "over fifteen terrorists fired and launched anti-tank missiles and attempted to infiltrate a fortified position of the 90th Battalion, Kfir Brigade, in the Khan Yunis area. The troops managed to eliminate ten armed terrorists in close combat, supported by Iaf air strikes'. Three soldiers were wounded, one seriously. "The 'attack is still ongoing and troops continue to operate to eliminate the terrorists," says the IDF.

'The State of Israel is starving the Palestinians and the Israeli occupation of Gaza is using food and water as a weapon of war, committing war crimes against the Palestinians and to erase the presence of Palestinians'. This was said by the spokesperson for the Italian Palestinian ambassador, Mona Abusmara, speaking at the funeral of Marah Abu Zhuri, the 20-year-old malnourished Palestinian woman who died in Pisa two days after arriving as part of a medical evacuation from the Strip ordered by the Italian government. "Marah's death," the spokesperson added, "is a loss for everyone because she is an integral part of the social fabric of the Palestinians and therefore we remember not only her suffering but also her resistance. She represents Palestinian resistance and struggle. Marah represents all Palestinians who are also suffering from the silence and indifference to the genocide of so many of the world's greats. A genocide that has been going on for two years live on all the TVs on the planet'.

The approval of the plan for a mega Israeli settlement in the West Bank represents - said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich - 'a significant step that practically erases the illusion of two states and consolidates the Jewish people's hold on the heart of the Land of Israel'. He adds: 'The Palestinian state is being wiped off the table not with slogans, but with deeds. Every settlement, every neighbourhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea'.

At a press conference, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the final approval of the controversial 'E1' settlement project in the West Bank. A 'historic' decision, the minister called it, that would effectively divide the West Bank in two, preventing any realisation of a united state of Palestine. The Times of Israel reports.

Further reading

The fear behind the silence of the West Bank

19 August 2025

A group of about 14 'militants' attempted to infiltrate a military post of the Israeli Forces (IDF) in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip. This is reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which speaks of the wounding of two Israeli soldiers, one seriously. This is, the newspaper writes on its website, the first such attack against the IDF since March. Israeli forces killed eight gunmen, while the others reportedly escaped without - according to the IDF - penetrating the base. According to reports in the Times of Israel, the attack started around 9am from a tunnel near an IDF position, and against Israeli troops "at least 14 terrorists" used RPGs and weapons.

Through the humanitarian initiative 'Solidarity Path Operation 2', the Italian Defence Force has built an air bridge between Jordan and the Gaza Strip to deliver vital aid to the civilian population, which has been hard hit by the continuing conflict. With nine airdrops carried out by the Italian Defence Force, over 100 tonnes of basic necessities have been distributed, destined in particular for the most isolated and hard-to-reach areas of the Strip. The airdrops, which began on 9 August, were carried out on 10 August, 11 August, 14 August, 15 August, 17 August, 18 August and finally yesterday.

A total of 35 people have died in Gaza since dawn as a result of Israeli raids. This was reported by Al Jazeera Arabic which cites Palestinian medical sources. Among the victims are ten people seeking humanitarian aid who - according to the sources - were killed in central and southern Gaza.

The IDF announced on X that it had resumed operations in Jabalia and the outskirts of Gaza City. "Troops are dismantling military infrastructure above and below ground, eliminating terrorists and consolidating operational control in the area, while intimating civilians to evacuate to the south for their safety," it read.

The Israeli government decided to increase this year's budget to cover the costs related to the war with Iran in June and the ongoing fighting in Gaza against Hamas.

The upward revision, which came only five months after parliament approved the previous budget, underlines the heavy toll that the 22-month multi-front war has taken on the country's economy, which contracted unexpectedly in the second quarter.

Iran is ready for a possible new Israeli attack, also thanks to the development of missiles with even greater capabilities than those used in the 12-day war. "Those missiles," said Defence Minister Aziz Nassirzadeh, quoted by Irna, "had been produced a few years ago. Today, we have developed others with greater capabilities than the others and if the Zionist enemy embarks on a new adventure we will undoubtedly use them'. Two days ago, reminding Israel to be "ready at any moment for confrontation" was First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref: "We are not even at the ceasefire, we are at the cessation of hostilities".

US President Donald Trump referred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and himself as 'war heroes'. During Mark Levin's radio programme, which aired during the Italian night, Trump referred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a 'war hero' because 'we worked together. (Netanyahu, ed) is a war hero. I think I am one too," Trump said. "Nobody cares. But so am I. I mean, I sent those planes,' most likely referring to the attack on Iran's underground nuclear facilities last June.

A garrison turned into a makeshift encampment, signs with fiery slogans, and a plaza renamed "Martyred Palestinian Children's Plaza". So, in Redmond, Washington, dozens of Microsoft employees and former employees chose to break the silence. In the heart of the East Campus, headquarters of the company founded by Bill Gates, the software giant came to terms not with its competitors, but with its own workers. The accusation is a heavy one: its technology, in particular Azure cloud services, was allegedly used by the Israeli army to surveil the Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank.

At least 28 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since dawn today. This was reported by the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera citing sources on the ground. Among the victims are seven people who were seeking humanitarian aid north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip: they were shot dead by Israeli forces, sources at the al-Awda hospital in Jabalia, in northern Gaza, told Al Jazeera.

The Israeli military announces that it has killed a commander of the Hamas armed wing responsible for the 7 October attack in Israel in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces (IDF) confirm on X that they have 'eliminated' Muhammad Naif Abu Shamala, 'a commander of the Nukhba unit of Hamas' believed to be responsible for the 7 October massacre. Abu Shamala is accused by the Israeli military of having 'promoted' since that 7 October 'various terrorist attacks against the IDF and Israel'. He was killed last Wednesday, it is reported this morning, in the Khan Yunis area in the south of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Defence Minister, Israel Katz, approved the military plans for the Gaza City offensive, presented overnight by the IDF Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, and other officers. This was reported this morning by the Israeli media.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza government says at least 18,885 children have been killed in the Strip by the Israeli Army (IDF) since the start of the war on seven October 2023, out of a total of more than 62,000 Palestinian casualties, Al Jazeera reports.

Arab mediators continue to believe in a ceasefire after Hamas' yes to the new proposed agreement, but Netanyahu has filtered that he only wants to accept the immediate release of all hostages and not in two stages. The Israeli PM meanwhile attacks Macron on the recognition of Palestine.

Approximately 60,000 Israeli reservists will be recalled starting tomorrow ahead of the new offensive in Gaza City, subject to approval by Defence Minister Israel Katz. This was reported by security sources to Times of Israel. The reservists will receive the order from the IDF at least two weeks before they have to report for duty. However, not all of them will be called to participate in the operation to take Gaza City: some will go to replace the army's permanent troops on other fronts.