The war in Gaza is at a tipping point

The conflict in Gaza could be about to reach a defining moment. After weeks of air strikes, artillery bombardments and drone attacks, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) appear to have the Hamas leadership and those remaining fighters still loyal to the group’s murderous ideals trapped in ever-shrinking pockets of land.

Intense street fighting is now taking place between Israeli troops and Hamas gunmen in the southern city of Khan Yunis, believed to be the last stronghold of the terrorist group. In the north, Hamas’s general headquarters, located within the Jabaliya refugee camp, has been occupied after a three day operation involving a naval commando unit and elements of the Israeli army’s 551st brigade.

But with Israel’s military success comes the ever-increasing chorus of international condemnation over the seemingly endless rise in Palestinian civilian casualties. For both sides in this increasingly bloody war – over 349 Palestinians were killed in a single 24 hour period between Sunday and Monday – time is proving to be a crucial and potentially game changing factor.