SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the resumption of the war in Gaza this week after a relatively quiet 42 days during a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The number of Palestinians killed in the war is nearing 50,000. That's according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The resumption of the war has also come with major political upheaval inside Israel, causing mass protests. NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi joins us now from Tel Aviv. Thanks for being with us, Hadeel.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Of course. Good morning.
MCCAMMON: The renewed war has meant a huge jump in the death toll. The Gaza Health Ministry said that just since Tuesday, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed. What are the conditions like inside Gaza?
AL-SHALCHI: I mean - well, besides the deadly and daily airstrikes that have killed hundreds, including many children, the Israeli military is also expanding a ground operation, which means ordering the evacuation of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and neighborhoods. NPR's Gaza producer, Anas Baba, visited a university library in the north, where people were sheltering and burning books to keep warm. He spoke to Fida Hamad (ph) there.
FIDA HAMAD: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: Hamad says if it wasn't for the books she'd propped up against a broken window, her family would be drenched from the rain. And I should mention, in response to the war starting up, the Houthis in Yemen fired missiles towards Israel this week, and Hamas retaliated from Gaza with their own rockets that caused sirens to go off across Israel. And then just today, Israel's defense minister said he had ordered the military to strike dozens of targets in Lebanon. He said it was in response to rocket fire towards Israel this morning. So now we're also seeing, again, an expansion of the war on all fronts.
MCCAMMON: And what's the reaction been in Israel?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, inside Israel, people are angry that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started the war back up at all again. They say it's going to risk the lives of the hostages still inside Gaza. Israel says that there are 59 still held by Hamas - 24 they believe are still alive. And some Israelis say that the decision to start the war up again is a way Netanyahu wants to distract from his own internal power struggles. His latest move was to propose the firing of the head of Israel's internal security agency, also known as the Shin Bet. His name is Ronen Bar.
Recently, the Shin Bet took responsibility for some of the security failures that led to the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, and Bar pointed the finger at Netanyahu for his role in it. Now, the Supreme Court issued an injunction to prevent the firing last night, but it's a serious move. Israelis are worried Netanyahu is sliding the country into an authoritarian regime.
MCCAMMON: So as you say, it seems most of the blame is being put on Netanyahu, and there were large protests against him this week. What are you seeing?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, you know, huge demonstrations all over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. You know, there's these impressive images of thousands of people blocking the highway between the two cities, calling for an end to the war, new elections and for Netanyahu to step down. Noam Peri's father was a hostage killed in captivity in February. She was at one of these protests today, and she had a message for President Trump, who many in Israel credit for the ceasefire in January.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
NOAM PERI: We need your leadership to continue the ceasefire and go back to the negotiation table and make sure all hostages come back home safely.
AL-SHALCHI: We know that the White House said last week that Trump fully supported Israel and the Israeli military's actions, so we'll see where this goes.
MCCAMMON: NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Tel Aviv. Thank you so much.
AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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