On Wednesday, Israel deepened its incursion into several neighborhoods of Gaza City, while Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir announced the start of the “second phase of Operation Gideon Vehicles,” which was met by the Al-Qassam Brigades launching a series of “Moses’ Staff” operations. Meanwhile, air and artillery bombardments continue across the Gaza Strip targeting inhabited homes, displaced persons’ tents, and crowds of starving people, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries.

Sources at Gaza hospitals reported that 53 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes since dawn Wednesday, 30 of them in Gaza City. The concentrated shelling caused thousands of Palestinians to flee from some southern and northern neighborhoods of Gaza City toward the coast in the west. The Gaza Ministry of Health announced that hospitals recorded 6 new deaths recently, including one child, due to starvation and malnutrition, raising the total death toll to 367, including 131 children.

Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, during a field tour in Gaza on Wednesday, announced the start of the “second phase of Operation Gideon Vehicles” to achieve “war objectives,” emphasizing that “the return of prisoners is a moral and national mission.” Zamir said, “We are intensifying fighting in the central arena of Gaza Strip and deepening strikes against Hamas. Army forces are moving in areas overlooking the city. Yesterday, we began a wide recruitment of reserve forces to continue these efforts.”

The Israeli army announced on Wednesday that it will push its forces in the coming weeks through a series of exercises including combat training in open and urban areas.

In response, a senior leader in the Al-Qassam Brigades announced the launch of the “Moses’ Staff” operations series in retaliation for the Israeli “Gideon Vehicles 2” operation. The leader stated in press remarks that “the first of our operations took place in the Al-Zaytoun and Jabalia neighborhoods hours after the enemy announced the launch of its operation.” He pointed out that “the Stones of David” thwarted “Gideon Vehicles,” as acknowledged by the Israeli army, and that “Moses’ Staff” will carry miracles.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday morning in Jerusalem, a series of protests led by families of Israeli soldiers held captive began, demanding pressure on the government to reach a prisoner exchange deal. Protesters set fire to garbage containers around Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house, and a car parked on the street caught fire. The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that protesters set fire near Netanyahu’s home as a pressure message calling for an end to the war and progress toward a settlement including a prisoner exchange deal. Some protesters barricaded themselves on the roof of the National Library, while a protest march headed to the city center. At the same time, police prepared to prevent the closure of Highway 1 amid warnings of escalating demonstrations.