2025 Gaza City offensive

2025 Gaza City offensive
Part of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war
Gaza Strip under Hamas control   Gaza Strip under Israeli control   Furthest Israeli advance in the Gaza Strip
Date 20 August 2025 [a] – present Location Gaza City and Jabalia, Gaza Strip, Palestine Status Preliminary operations or first stages of offensive underway, per Israel
Belligerents
Israel	Hamas
Commanders and leaders
Yaniv Asor Yehuda Fox	Izz al-Din al-Haddad Haitham Khuwajari
Units involved
Israel Defense Forces   Israeli Ground Forces Central Command 99th Division [2] Southern Command 162nd Division [2] 401st Brigade [3] Nahal Brigade [3]   Israeli Air Force Israeli Intelligence Community Shin Bet	Al-Qassam Brigades
Strength
~130,000 troops [4]	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Several soldiers killed [3] 4 soldiers missing [3]	Unknown

On 20 August 2025, as part of the Gaza war (2023–present), Israel announced it had formally begun the "first stages" of a military offensive aiming to seize control of Gaza City from Hamas, ^[1] referred to in plans as Operation Gideon's Chariots II ^{[5] [4] [6]} or Operation Gideon's Chariots B ^[7] (Hebrew : מבצע מרכבות גדעון ב').

Current fighting in and around the city is intended to be superseded by a main Israeli offensive planned for mid-September 2025. ^[8] This plan was approved on 21 August by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who stated he was seeking to restart negotiations with Hamas in order to end the war on Israel's terms. ^[9]

The offensive is set to further intensify the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, with the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) having confirmed a famine in Gaza City on 22 August. ^[10] Furthermore, Israeli defense minister Israel Katz has announced plans to raze the entire city if Hamas does not surrender. ^[11] Militants in Gaza have also reportedly transferred Israeli hostages to combat zones in the city ^{[12] [3]} with the intention of using them as human shields. ^{[13] [14]}

Prelude

Background

The last large scale Israeli attack on Gaza City was a siege that lasted from November 2023 to January 2025. In April 2025, Israel began an offensive into Shuja'iyya, a neighborhood in the city's east.

Preparations

Ahead of the offensive, Israel announced plans to relocate Palestinian civilians in Gaza City to the southern Gaza Strip, ^[15] with the deadline for evacuation set for 7 October 2025, ^[16] and intensified bombardments on the Gaza City neighborhoods of Zeitoun, Sabra, Rimal, and Tuffah. ^[15]

On 18 August, the IDF advanced into Sabra, and laid siege to a school and a United Nations clinic. ^[17]

On 20 August, Katz approved the plans for the takeover of Gaza City, which was framed as a continuation or a second part of Operation Gideon's Chariots, which lasted from 16 May to 4 August 2025. ^[5] The IDF announced it would be calling up 60,000 reservists for the offensive. ^[18]

Ceasefire debate

A 60-day ceasefire plan presented by Egyptian and Qatari mediators on 17 August ^[19] was accepted by Hamas, and would halt the planned offensive if accepted by the Israeli side. Netanyahu has not responded publicly to the ceasefire proposal, and his far-right political allies have heavily pressured him to reject it. ^[20]

Offensive

20 August

IDF spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin stated that Israel had "begun the preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City" and that the IDF was presently holding positions on the city's outskirts. ^[1] Furthermore, an Israeli military official stated that the IDF would seek to breach areas of Gaza City where they had not previously operated in. ^[21]

21 August

Israel bombarded targets throughout Gaza City with Sabra and Shuja'iyya being shelled. The IDF reported they were operating in Zeitoun, the city's southernmost neighborhood, and in Jabalia, north of the city. ^[22]

22 August

Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades attacked and wounded an IDF soldier in Zeitoun. ^[23] Meanwhile, Israeli forces reached the central parts of Sabra. ^[24]

24 August

Israeli tanks advanced into the Saftawy neighborhood of Jabalia to take up positions adjacent to Jalaa Street, which separates western and eastern Gaza City. ^[24]

29 August

In Zeitoun, seven IDF soldiers were wounded by an explosive device. ^[25]

The Al-Qassam Brigades carried out a large-scale ambush in Zeitoun, resulting in several IDF deaths and four missing soldiers. Militants are said to have attempted to capture soldiers during the ambush, with the IDF employing the Hannibal Directive. ^[3] The missing soldiers may have been captured by the Al-Qassam Brigades. ^[26] Militants also carried out a second ambush in Sabra. ^[3]

30 August

The IDF reportedly withdrew from Zeitoun as a result of the previous clashes in the neighborhood. ^[27] The IDF's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed that reports of the supposed kidnapping of the missing Israeli soldiers were false. ^[25]

The Shin Bet reportedly carried out a drone strike in Gaza City that targeted the Al-Qassam Brigades spokeseman Abu Obaida. ^[28]

Humanitarian impact

Displacement of residents

Conflicting reports have emerged about the scale of civilian evacuations from Gaza City. Mustafa Qazzaat, head of the emergency committee in the Gaza municipality, described the situation as “catastrophic,” with “large numbers” fleeing eastern neighborhoods. ^[29] Associated Press journalists witnessed "small groups" heading south from the city in the week leading up to the offensive, but no large-scale evacuation. ^[30] The New Arab described a "unified" reaction from residents of Gaza City, with families choosing to remain in their homes due to feeling there was no safe place in all of the Gaza Strip. ^[6] The UN and international organizations tracking population movements reported thousands of people had fled the city. ^[22] Al-Monitor reported that fleeing residents were mostly heading towards the coast. ^[31]

According to Ahed Ferwana, a Gaza-based political analyst, Operation Gideon's Chariots II is not only a military maneuever but also a continuation of a strategy of demographic engineering by Israel that aims to create the conditions for permanent displacement of Gazans. ^[6]

Famine

On 22 August, the IPC confirmed that a famine was occurring in Gaza City, which could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis by September. Israel disputed the report. ^[10]

Reactions

Countries

• Australia: Foreign minister Penny Wong said the plan would worsen the Gaza humanitarian crisis and constitute a violation of international law, calling for a ceasefire, the return of Israeli hostages, the entry of aid, and a two-state solution. ^[16]
• Germany: Germany announced that it would stop exporting military equipment to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip. ^[32]
• Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Turkey: These countries condemned the planned offensive. ^[32]
• Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, and Slovenia: These countries issued a joint letter condemning the planned offensive, stating it would deepen the humanitarian crisis and endanger the lives of Israeli hostages. The letter also called for a ceasefire and two-state solution. ^[33]
• United Kingdom: James Kariuki, the British deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, stated the planned offensive was "not a path to resolution" and instead "a path to more bloodshed." ^[32]
• United States: President Donald Trump supported Israel's Gaza offensive plan ^[34] and called for Hamas to be "confronted and destroyed" as soon as possible. ^[35] Dorothy Shea, the American interim ambassador to the UN, said that "Israel has a right to decide what is necessary for its security, and what measures are appropriate to end the threat posed by Hamas and other similar groups." ^[32]

Palestinian factions

• Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad: On 17 August, it was reported that the militant groups were considering a plan to transfer Israeli hostages to Gaza City in order to deter the offensive. ^{[13] [14]} On 29 August, Abu Obaida confirmed that hostages had been transferred to combat zones. ^[12] According to Netanyahu, Hamas' acceptance of a ceasefire proposal shows that the group is under "immense pressure". ^[19] Following the start of the offensive on 20 August, Hamas released a statement condemning it as "a blatant disregard for the efforts made by the mediators”, referring to the ceasefire proposal by Egypt and Qatar. ^[29] Hamas also called Katz' comments about razing Gaza City "a confession of committing a crime that amounts to ethnic cleansing" and stated it would not disarm without the creation of an independent Palestinian state. ^[11]
• Palestinian Authority: President Mahmoud Abbas called Israel's decision a "complete crime that represents a continuation of the policy of genocide, systematic killing, starvation and siege, and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and U.N. resolutions." ^[32]

Within Israel

• Israeli protestors: Tens of thousands of Israeli protestors began demonstrating against the plans, and believe they endanger the Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum stated on Twitter that "expanding the fighting endangers the hostages and the soldiers — the people of Israel are not willing to risk them!" ^[32]
• Israeli opposition: Yair Lapid said that the planned offensive was a far-right plot that would be a disaster for the IDF and Israel and cause the deaths of the remaining hostages. Yair Golan, leader of The Democrats, called the plan a “death sentence to hostages and more bereaved families.” ^[16]

See also

• Gaza Strip evacuations
• Gaza Strip under Hamas
• Battle of Khan Yunis (2025)
• Gaza genocide
• Genocidal intent of Hamas toward Israel

Notes

1. On 20 August, the IDF spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin announced the start of "the preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City". ^[1] The IDF had nonetheless already been operating within parts of the city prior to the announcement, having launched an offensive into the Shuja'iyya neighborhood since 4 April and an incursion into the Sabra neighborhood since 18 August.

References

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3. "BREAKING: 4 Israeli soldiers missing, others killed in resistance ambush in Zeitoun neighbourhood east of Gaza: Israel media". Middle East Monitor. 30 August 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
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