On Sunday 7 August at 11:30 pm local time, the ceasefire brokered by Egypt came into force, momentarily bringing to an end Operation Breaking Dawn — alba nascente — through which the Israeli air force bombarded the Gaza Strip for three days. To date, the death toll stands at 45 people killed — including 16 children — more than 360 wounded, more than 1,600 homes destroyed, and an incalculable number of displaced persons. On the Israeli side, three citizens sustained minor injuries.

MediciSenzaFrontiere @MSF_ITALIA

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🔴 #Gaza
Dopo gli attacchi aerei israeliani, i nostri team sul posto hanno donato prodotti farmaceutici per le sale operatorie e i pronto soccorso degli ospedali della zona e stanno valutando l'impatto di quello che è successo sul sistema sanitario.

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The origins of Israel's operation in the Gaza Strip

On 2 August, the Israeli army arrested in Jenin Bassam al-Saadi, a senior leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the West Bank, in a raid that killed several young Palestinians. The armed movement immediately threatened reprisals against Israel, but in reality had not reacted in the days that followed: neither the PIJ nor the organisation Hamas intended to drag Gaza into yet another military offensive.

The Israeli forces further militarised the border with Gaza: troops were dispatched to the border, access routes to the Strip were blocked, communication lines were closed, the supply of electricity was reduced, and above all a propaganda campaign directed at citizens living in the southern part of Israel began, with a curfew imposed on them. As Israeli Haaretz journalist Gideon Levy told Al Jazeera, the population was alarmed without knowing what was happening in the area.

Even though there had been no military action originating from Gaza, on 5 August the Israeli air force began bombing various areas of the Strip, from the Jabalia refugee camp in the north to that of Rafah in the south, on the border with Egypt, despite condemnation from the United Nations. After three days of siege, the Strip's hospitals found themselves without medical supplies or electricity to assist the population. In response, the PIJ fired hundreds of rockets towards Israel — the vast majority intercepted by the Iron Dome system, Israel's anti-missile shield — and three Israeli citizens sustained minor injuries.

The political motivations behind Operation Breaking Dawn are to be found in two issues on the agenda: on the one hand, the desire to suppress Palestinian resistance groups, and on the other, Israeli domestic politics.

Israeli attention has shifted from Jenin to Gaza

The objective of the offensive on Gaza was not, in fact, to neutralise Hamas targets, well entrenched in the area, but to strike the PIJ, which is present mainly in the West Bank. Hence the impression that the war on Palestinian resistance movements, armed and otherwise, has shifted from Jenin to Gaza. Last week saw the aforementioned arrest of al-Saadi; last April, an Israeli incursion into the Jenin camp killed one Palestinian and wounded thirteen others. Later the same month, another operation killed a Palestinian teenager and wounded three more. Then on 11 May, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed while covering events on the ground, drawing condemnation from much of the international community.

Claudio Marciano @tecnocla

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I bombardamenti israeliani su Gaza hanno ucciso in 3 giorni 45 persone, tra cui 15 bambini. Se il frame della propaganda italiana fosse lo stesso della guerra in Ucraina, la semplice logica imporrebbe l'immediato invio di armi ai palestinesi per diritto all'autodifesa.

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But the attacks did not stop there: in June, around 30 Israeli military vehicles stormed the camp and soldiers surrounded a car in the eastern part of the city, opening fire on the four men inside. Three were killed and the fourth was seriously wounded. Israel's military operations in Jenin serve to undermine the security control and credibility of the Palestinian Authority in the eyes of its own population, as the Fatah leadership is unable to protect its most vulnerable citizens.

The numerous operations fuelled fears of a large-scale Israeli invasion of the Jenin refugee camp. Instead, Israel decided to attack Gaza, above all because of the geographical conditions of the area: a 365-square-kilometre zone in which more than 2 million people live in segregation with no way out.

The new Israeli electoral campaign

Another piece needed to understand Tel Aviv's decision to launch this offensive lies in Israeli domestic politics. Indeed, a few weeks ago, the government of Naftali Bennett fell, taking the country to the polls for the fifth time in three and a half years. In his place, leading the caretaker government, is Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, representing the centre-left party Yesh Atid.

MediciSenzaFrontiere @MSF_ITALIA

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A partire dal 2 agosto, la chiusura dei confini di #Gaza ha compromesso l'ingresso di medicinali essenziali e forniture mediche e ha portato a una grave carenza di carburante.

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According to the latest polls, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ahead in the polls, and this is said to have led Lapid to organise the offensive on Gaza in quick succession. Aware of how the Israeli population feels the need to have a strong man in power to protect the nation, the incumbent prime minister decided to attack the Palestinians whenever a government crisis breaks out. As happened, for example, in May 2021, when Netanyahu ordered the bombardment of the Strip following the post-election crisis. In short, as has so often been the case for decades, the Israeli electoral campaign is waged at the expense of Palestinians living under occupation.