Diplomatic pressure, rising military casualties and the problem of Israeli hostages in Gaza have not deterred Netanyahu from ordering an offensive on Rafah.
Israeli soldiers gather near the border fence with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel this week.
Abir Sultan/EPA
The longer the war drags on, the more it has highlighted the fact that Israel has no long-term strategy for living side-by-side with its Palestinian neighbours.
Palestinians crowd a street as smoke billows from Israeli strikes in Rafah on May 7, 2024.
AFP via Getty Images
The US put a pause on an arms shipment to Israel as it launched a Rafah offensive. This is not the first time the US and Israel have publicly disagreed, despite their strong diplomatic relationship.
Palestinian civilians are evacuating Rafah as Israeli troops prepare to launch their long-awaited assault on the city.
EPA-EFE/Mohammed Saber
The US is redoubling its efforts to complete construction of an aid pier off the coast of Gaza, but with road crossings closed, this will not be enough.
A selection of our coverage of the conflict in Gaza from the past fortnight.
A woman chants slogans as she holds an Iranian flag during an anti-Israeli gathering in Tehran on April 19, 2024. Israel reportedly retaliated against Iran on April 19 for its drone-and-missile assault on Israel a week earlier.
(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Israel’s latest missile strike on Iran may be more a face-saving exercise aimed at satisfying members of its coalition government than a true escalation of hostilities.
How far the violent exchanges between Israel and Iran will escalate may well hinge on how strong the two sides’ leader need to appear to their own people.
Computer-assisted warfare: an Israeli patrol in the Gaza Strip, March 2024.
CTK Photo/Pavel Nemecek
In recent weeks, as thousands died and the threat of famine settled over Gaza, the relationship Israel and its western allies had started to fracture. Iran’s attack appears likely to change that.
Iran’s attack on Israel may have failed, but its timing was orchestrated to create maximum division.
The Israeli Iron Dome air defence system launches to intercept missiles fired from Iran in central Israel on April 14, 2024, after Iran launched its first direct military attack against Israel.
(AP Photo/Tomer Neuberg)
US President Joe Biden’s recent warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has limited Israel’s options in Gaza. And neither of Israel’s war objectives appear to have been met.
President Joe Biden greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York City in September 2023.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Jordan Tama, American University School of International Service
Israel has historically made statements and taken actions to placate US anger without always following through. But will Biden’s threat to put conditions on aid force Israel to behave differently?
The government’s rhetoric in response to the death of the Australian aid worker is stronger than we’d previously seen, but in a conflict with no clear solutions, little will change.
John Strawson, a UK-based researcher on Israeli politics, answers questions about the US decision to abstain from voting on a UN security council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
A view of Khan Yunis in Gaza on Feb. 2, 2024, after weeks of continuous Israeli bombardment and bulldozing.
Abdulqader Sabbah/Anadolu via Getty Images
The destructive force that Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu has unleashed in Gaza is rooted in a century-old ideology that says overwhelming power is how Israel should deal with Palestinians.