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As Israeli drones buzz overhead and food supplies dwindle, Oday Basheer moves quietly through Deir al-Balah, helping run a community kitchen for displaced Palestinians. The daily threat of airstrikes has become routine. “It’s just a press of a button and my story is ended,” he says.
Basheer, whose kitchen has partnered with World Central Kitchen (WCK), no longer tracks the headlines. “No one’s coming. No one’s going to stop this war.”
On Monday, Israel confirmed what many in Gaza had feared: its military will seize the territory indefinitely, calling up tens of thousands of reservists to significantly expand operations. The timing, according to a defense official speaking to the Associated Press, may hinge on President Trump’s visit to the region next month.
“I will not do the dreams that I wanted to achieve,” Basheer tells TIME from Gaza. “More than 50,000 people were killed during this genocide.”
WCK has suspended operations in Gaza twice in the past year after Israeli strikes killed seven in April 2024 and three last November.
As of April, at least 408 aid workers have been killed, deepening the crisis for Gaza’s 2 million residents already enduring a near-total blockade.
How Will Israel Expand Military Operations?
The war began after a Hamas terror attack killed more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals on October 7, 2023, with the militants seizing some 250 hostages. As of May 6, more than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to its Health Ministry.
Israel’s plan marks a turning point in the nation’s war strategy – one that NGOs and human rights groups warn will only escalate the humanitarian catastrophe inside Gaza.
While Israeli forces have previously advanced deep into Gaza during the war, a sustained military presence has largely been confined to a 1km buffer zone along the border. In April, that zone was expanded, denying Palestinians access to more than half of the territory.
“There will not be an in-and-out,”…
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