Aim is Southern Gaza

Southern Gaza is where Israel believes Hamas’s top leadership is in hiding, but it is also where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have taken refuge and where most of the remaining hostages taken from Israel are being held, according to a senior Israeli defense official.

During the week of relative quiet, the Biden administration has pushed Israel to carry out a more surgical campaign should the fighting resume in the south — a reality now that the cease-fire has collapsed. Now, as Israel restarts its campaign, which has already destroyed large portions of northern Gaza and killed thousands of civilians, American officials say the Israeli military may be more precise this time around.