The Iranian attack on Israel has shifted the focus from the war in Gaza, but Israeli military operations there continue with the aim of eliminating Hamas, the armed group that controlled the area before the fighting began.
The Israeli army launched its attack on Gaza after October 7, when Hamas led an attack that Israeli authorities say killed about 1,200 people. Israel said its goal was to defeat Hamas and free the hostages it took that day, about 100 of whom remain in Gaza. Local health authorities say the war has killed more than 33,000 people, and the United Nations says the population is on the brink of famine.
Here’s a look at the state of play in the military conflict:
South Gaza
Israel withdrew its troops from southern Gaza this month, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the army still plans to invade Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, to “complete the elimination of the Hamas battalions.” and to destroy its tunnel networks.
The timing of a possible operation in Rafah, on the border with Egypt, is unclear. President Biden is one of several world leaders who have urged Israel not to invade the city because of the damage it could cause to civilians. Rafah’s population has grown to more than a million as people have flocked there to seek shelter from fighting elsewhere, and border crossings in southern Gaza are a key conduit for humanitarian aid.
North Gaza
Israel began its ground invasion of northern Gaza in late October and called on civilians to leave. Much of the north, including Gaza City, has been devastated by airstrikes and ground fighting. Israel began withdrawing its troops from northern Gaza in January, saying it had dismantled Hamas’s military structure there.
However, in March, Israeli forces carried out an operation at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where they said Hamas fighters had returned. Israeli forces said they had killed about 200 fighters and captured another 500. The hospital, once the largest in Gaza, was in ruins.
Some analysts said the raid showed that Israel, by leaving northern Gaza without a plan for governing the area, had made it possible for Hamas to return. At the same time, some civilians who had fled south and tried to return via a coastal road said this week that Israeli forces had shot at them. Their testimony could not be independently corroborated.
Central Gaza
The Israeli forces remaining in Gaza mainly guard a road that the army built through the center of the strip to facilitate its operations. The Institute for the Study of War, a research group, said this was consistent with Israel’s plans to shift to a strategy of more targeted attacks rather than broader strikes.
Israel retains the capacity to carry out airstrikes anywhere in Gaza and has carried out several around the central city of Deir al Balah. This month, Israeli planes attacked a convoy of the World Central Kitchen charity near the city, killing seven aid workers. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel regrets the attacks.
Throughout the territory
Experts say the Israeli military has had significant success in dismantling Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has broken the strength of most of its battalions with tens of thousands of airstrikes and ground battles, said Robert Blecher, an expert at the International Crisis Group think tank.
Israel has also killed at least one of Hamas’ top commanders and destroyed some of the tunnels in which the group operates. But Hamas retains significant organizational and military capacity, especially in southern Gaza, where its tunnel network acts as a shield and its leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, remains at large.
“Israel has done well to eliminate those stronger battalions,” Mr. Blecher said, but added: “Hamas will remain an insurgent force.”