1. Introduction / Background
On May 18, 2025, the situation in Gaza worsened as Israel began a large ground operation called Operation Gideon's Chariots, following deadly airstrikes that killed over 150 Palestinians. The Israeli military targeted multiple locations, including hospitals and homes, leading to heavy civilian casualties, including many children.
Medical facilities in Gaza were overwhelmed, forcing the closure of many, including the Indonesian Hospital. Over 3,000 people had died since the conflict escalated in March. International mediators were attempting to negotiate a ceasefire in Doha, Qatar, but progress was limited. The UN and humanitarian organizations warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
2. Key Highlights – Israel Hamas war updates
- Killed 151 (53,339)
- Injured 121,034
- Home Destroyed
3. Governments’ Response
Netanyahu reportedly responded positively to the offer, but with reservations, while Hamas continues to demand guarantees for an end to the war.
Israel will ease its blockade and let limited amounts of food into Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Sunday, after the military announced it had begun "extensive ground operations" in the northern and southern parts of the enclave. (https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-airstrike-kills-least-24-gaza-mediators-host-ceasefire-talks-2025-05-17/)
4. Military Developments
Israel announced a large-scale ground invasion across Gaza, deepening fears of further mass civilian casualties in the battered territory. The Israeli military issued forced displacement orders to Palestinian civilians in central-eastern Gaza.
An Israeli air strike has killed a Palestinian woman in a tent housing displaced people on Al-Barakah Street in central Gaza's Deir el-Balah, according to Al Jazeera Arabic. (https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/israeli-strike-kills-woman-central-gaza?nid=421833&topic=Israel%2527s%2520war%2520on%2520Gaza&fid=544755)
The Israeli military said on 18.05.2025 it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen toward Israel, where sirens sounded in several areas. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they had targeted Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv with two ballistic missiles. (https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-says-it-intercepted-missile-yemen-2025-05-17/)
In northern Gaza, the director of the Indonesian Hospital, Dr Marwan al-Sultan, says Israeli forces are “directly targeting” and laying siege to the facility, trapping some 55 people inside.
5. Militants’ Activity
Hamas has offered to release half of the remaining living hostages and a number of bodies in exchange for a two-month ceasefire, Palestinian sources told Sky News Arabia. In addition to demanding a temporary ceasefire, Hamas also conditioned the release on the immediate resumption of aid deliveries.
Gaza journalist Tawfiq Abu Jarad was threatened by Hamas. CPJ reports widespread intimidation and self-censorship among Gaza reporters. Tawfiq Abu Jarad, a 44-year-old correspondent for Ramallah’s Sawt al-Hurriya radio, received a threatening call from a Hamas terrorist warning him not to report on a women-led protest in Beit Lahia late last month, according to a Thursday report from the non-profit Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). (https://m.jpost.com/middle-east/article-854301)
Hamas has strongly condemned Israel for what it called as a deliberate and coordinated attack on Palestinian journalists, calling it part of an “ongoing campaign of persecution and killing” aimed at silencing media voices in Gaza. (https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/hamas-condemns-israel-killing-five-journalists-gaza-air-strikes?nid=421833&topic=Israel%2527s%2520war%2520on%2520Gaza&fid=544755)
6. Impact On the Trade and Travel
Israel's economy registered moderate growth of 3.4% in the first three months of 2025, as the war in Gaza against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continued to take its toll, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on 18.05.2025. The initial estimate for annualised gross domestic product (ILGDPP=ECI), opens new tab growth in the January to March period from the fourth quarter was largely in line with a 3.5% consensus in a Reuters poll. On a per capita basis, GDP gained 2.2% in the first quarter. (https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-economy-grew-34-q1-war-against-hamas-weighs-2025-05-18/)
7. International Response
Abdullah bin Zayed also underscored his country’s humanitarian commitment, noting that the UAE has delivered over 42% of all international aid to Gaza in the past two years. The release of hostages held by Hamas must be the top priority in any plan for Gaza’s future, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said Thursday in an interview with Fox News, stressing the urgent need to dismantle Hamas’s control of the territory. (https://m.jpost.com/middle-east/article-854472)
Trump has previously said he would like the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and its Palestinian population resettled elsewhere.
The US embassy in Libya denied on Sunday a report that the US government was working on a plan to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya. (https://m.jpost.com/middle-east/article-854357)
White House envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff delivered an updated proposal to Israel and Hamas a few days ago for a deal to release the remaining hostages and to implement a ceasefire in Gaza, and is putting pressure on both sides to accept it, according to a senior Israeli official and a separate source familiar with the details. (https://m.jpost.com/middle-east/article-854498?dicbo=v2-QMKm1Nk)
Tens of thousands of protesters marched through The Hague on 17.05.2025 demanding a tougher stance from the Dutch government against Israel's war in Gaza. Organiser Oxfam Novib said around 100,000 protesters had joined the march, most dressed in red expressing their desire for a "red line" against Israel's siege on Gaza, where it has cut off medical, food and fuel supplies. (https://www.reuters.com/world/tens-thousands-protest-hague-against-gaza-war-2025-05-18/)
The chief of Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said a "gruesome milestone" has been reached as the death toll of Unrwa workers killed in Gaza passed 300.
A delegation of Italian lawmakers and members of the European Parliament (MEP) travelled to the Rafah crossing on Egypt’s border with Gaza on Sunday, calling for the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid and denouncing Europe’s inaction as Israel’s war continues to devastate the enclave. (https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/italian-lawmakers-demand-urgent-gaza-aid-rafah-border-protest?nid=421833&topic=Israel%2527s%2520war%2520on%2520Gaza&fid=544755)
8. Comment.
On 18.05.2025, there was a major escalation in violence with a significant Israeli ground offensive in Gaza, heavy civilian casualties, hospital closures, and stalled ceasefire talks amid growing international concern over the humanitarian crisis.
9. latest news in two lines
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