Israel escalates Gaza attacks as Netanyahu stalls ceasefire for polls

Seven months after a ceasefire agreement was established to cease hostilities in Gaza, the situation has deteriorated into a pretext for ongoing Israeli military actions within the territory.

Since the ceasefire, Israeli forces have reportedly killed at least 880 Palestinians, thus raising the cumulative death toll from the conflict to 72,797, according to data from Gaza's health ministry.

As Israel's national elections approach in September, analysts and human rights officials express concern that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be intentionally hindering the peace process to satisfy right-wing coalition partners and their voter base.

Mai El-Sheikh, spokesperson for the United Nations Human Rights Office in Palestine, articulated to Al Jazeera that Israel has reframed the ceasefire as a cover for its continuous violations of human rights.

She cautioned that Israel's measures appear to be systematically engineered to create a humanitarian crisis by restricting access to essential food and medical supplies, thereby exacerbating the plight of displaced families.

Systematic demolition and displacement

This ongoing violence is being complemented by a concerted demolition campaign executed by Israel, which has compelled Palestinians to occupy increasingly confined areas within the besieged territory.

The Gaza Rights Center has recorded at least 12 instances in May where Israeli forces communicated forced evacuation orders via phone prior to demolishing residential blocks located in the central camps of Nuseirat, Bureij, and Maghazi. This destruction correlated with extensive land clearance endeavors in areas east of Deir el-Balah still under Israeli control.

The rights organization has indicated that these military operations lack any credible military rationale, and that the targeting of dilapidated structures in the approximately 35 percent of Gaza not under direct Israeli control serves to make the territory entirely inhospitable.

With nearly 90 percent of Gaza's infrastructure reportedly destroyed in the ongoing conflict, human rights organizations emphasize that while advance notifications allow residents some opportunity to evacuate, this does not release the occupying power from its legal responsibilities. Furthermore, such practices function as intimidation tactics aimed at perpetuating forced displacement for Gaza's 2.3 million residents.

'A political excuse'

The political dynamics propelling the current situation in Gaza are evident. Mohannad Mustafa, an expert in Israeli political affairs, asserted that Netanyahu finds himself in a significant strategic and political predicament, struggling to achieve his declared goals in the Gaza conflict, particularly the eradication of Hamas.

Simultaneously, Netanyahu is confronted with increasing domestic scrutiny related to Israel's ongoing challenges on two other fronts, including persistent attacks from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the stabilized Iranian government.

"He is obstructing the flow of humanitarian assistance, hindering reconstruction efforts, and delaying the formation of an administrative committee because his overarching ambition appears to be the establishment of a comprehensive military occupation over the entire Gaza Strip," Mustafa noted.

Eyad al-Qarra, a political analyst from Khan Younis, commented that Israel has utilized the mandated disarmament of Palestinian factions, including Hamas, as a rationale to avoid fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire.

Al-Qarra further posited that even if all weapons were surrendered by these groups, Israel would likely discover further justifications to continue its hostilities in Gaza.

Despite the tenuous nature of the ceasefire agreement, Gazans remain apprehensive that a collapse of the agreement could open the door to a more expansive military campaign by Israel.

At the same time, mechanisms established to enforce the ceasefire have weakened considerably.

The Board of Peace, the contentious U.S.-led international council tasked with managing Gaza, has struggled to implement the ceasefire conditions due to a lack of consensus among its members.

Kenneth Katzman, a researcher based in the U.S., noted that U.S. President Donald Trump's focus on Iran has created a diplomatic vacuum in the region that Israel is now exploiting in Gaza.

Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian minister serving as an executive member of the Board of Peace, cautioned the United Nations Security Council that without a viable reconstruction strategy, Gaza's situation may remain precarious for an indefinite period.