NDTV Exclusive: Rows Of Body Bags - Gaza Bleeds As Israel Unleashes Gideon's Chariot

Outside the many makeshift 'tent hospitals' scattered across Gaza, rows of body bags lie on the ground. Grief-stricken people move from tent to tent, searching desperately for missing family, torn between the hope of finding them alive and the dread of discovering them among the dead.

Israel's ongoing military offensive in Gaza has entered its most intense phase yet with the expansion of Operation Gideon's Chariot, a campaign that has triggered mass displacement, crippled the territory's medical infrastructure, and pushed Gaza's civilian population further into humanitarian catastrophe. 

The latest escalation, marked by a sustained wave of Israeli air and ground strikes, has resulted in hundreds of new casualties in the last few days, according to local health authorities.

On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike hit a tent encampment in Khan Younis, a southern city sheltering displaced Palestinian families, killing at least 24 people and wounding dozens. Among the victims were women and children. Several tents caught fire after the attack, exacerbating the suffering of civilians who had already lost their homes in earlier strikes.

Hospitals in Collapse

Dr Khaled Alshawwa, a 31-year-old surgeon in Gaza City, described the conditions as "unimaginably worse by the hour." Operating in a makeshift tent hospital with minimal supplies and no basic safety, he warned of systemic collapse. 

"The operation has triggered a wave of mass casualties for the past few weeks, entire families are arriving in pieces, and the wounded are lying on floors without beds, supplies, or even water. Our patients are starving, literally. Children undergoing surgeries are malnourished and dehydrated. We are seeing post-operative complications like anastomotic leaks due to protein deficiency," Dr Alshawwa told NDTV, from Gaza City's Rimal neighbourhood.   

"Hospitals are collapsing. I am operating in a field hospital made of tents, which places both the healthcare team and our patients in direct danger. Yesterday, a bullet fell from the sky, pierced the tent, and landed just beside a patient's friend. Our teams are exhausted, some have been living in the hospitals for days or weeks, risking their lives under constant bombardment to treat the injured," he added. 

Dr Alshawwa told NDTV how he and his peers, given Gaza's acute food shortage, are often surviving on one tiny can of food a day. 

"We are doing our best, but what we are witnessing is beyond a crisis. It is a human catastrophe," Dr Alshawwa said. 

A Journalist's Perspective

Ismail Abu Hatab, a photojournalist based in Gaza, echoed the sentiment: "The situation is extremely difficult. The killing, hunger, and displacement are ongoing. There is no food, no water. The Israeli army says they are conducting an operation called Gideon's Chariot to occupy and displace people."

Israel has been distributing leaflets in northern Gaza urging civilians to flee south. Yet, as Gazans have repeatedly said, there are no truly safe areas left in the Strip.

Renewed Offensive

On March 18, after a two-month ceasefire, Israel resumed its military campaign following the October 2023 Hamas attack that killed 1,218 Israelis and resulted in 251 hostages being taken. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said the current operation seeks to fulfill all war objectives, including the "defeat of Hamas" and the return of hostages.

Over a 100 people have died in Gaza since Friday.

Over the past 72 hours, Israel has conducted what it termed "extensive strikes" across the enclave. According to the IDF, more than 150 Hamas targets were hit in a 24-hour span. Gaza's civil defense agency reported over 100 deaths on Friday alone. By Sunday, the Palestinian health ministry estimated that 2,985 people had died since March 18, bringing the war's total death count in the besieged Palestinian enclave to over 53,000.

"Over the past day, the IDF launched extensive attacks and mobilised forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening moves of Operation Gideon's Chariots and the expansion of the campaign in Gaza, to achieve all the goals of the war in Gaza, including the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas," the IDF said in a statement. 

Despite the scale of the operation, Israel has not succeeded in completely dismantling Hamas or securing the release of remaining hostages. Of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 57 remain in Gaza. Israeli authorities believe 34 of them are dead.

Disputed Aid Access

Israel's blockade on humanitarian aid has entered its third month. Aid groups report critical shortages of food, fuel, water, and medical supplies. US President Donald Trump recently acknowledged the dire conditions. "A lot of people are starving," he said on Friday in Abu Dhabi. "We're looking at Gaza, and we're going to get that taken care of."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet voted on May 4 to allow vetted aid distribution through private American contractors. But implementation has been delayed, with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, one of the contracted NGOs, urging Israel to resume food flows.