War in Gaza rages on as all eyes turn to Israel-Iran tensions

Israeli soldiers stand next to military vehicles, near the Israel-Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Israel, April 15, 2024.
Israeli soldiers stand next to military vehicles, near the Israel-Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Israel, April 15, 2024.
REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Much of the world is waiting to see how Israel responds to Iran’s weekend attack. In the meantime, Israeli tanks reportedly rolled back into parts of northern Gaza on Tuesday, a day after the military told Palestinians not to return to that part of the enclave. According to reports, airstrikes also pummeled Rafah, the southern Gaza city that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to invade and where over a million Palestinians are sheltering.

Countries in the region are raising the alarm about a lack of focus on Gaza in the wake of Iran’s attack. Jordan's top diplomat, Ayman Safadi, said Tuesday that Netanyahu was using “his confrontation with Iran” to “draw attention away from Gaza.”

Israel has vowed to respond to the Iranian attack, but hasn’t said how it intends to do so – or when. Still, it’s locked in tit-for-tats with Iranian proxies. One example: The IDF said Tuesday that it killed a top Hezbollah commander with an airstrike in Lebanon, as drone attacks attributed to the Iran-backed militant group reportedly injured several in northern Israel.

With the region already on edge and the estimated death toll in Gaza at over 33,000, Israel is being urged to show restraint against Iran. If Israel avoids escalating with Iran, analysts suggest this could see the US ease up on its opposition to a ground offensive in Rafah — but such an operation would also likely tank the possibility of a cease-fire anytime soon.

For now, Iran and Israel are in a “de-escalatory phase,” tweeted Eurasia Group and GZERO Media President Ian Bremmer, but Tehran will continue to support its proxies, and Israel isn’t going to stop the war in Gaza “or targeting Iranian military leaders [who are] supporting proxies.”

More from GZERO Media

France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference following a summit for the "coalition of the willing" at the Elysee Palace in Paris on March 27, 2025.

LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS

At the third summit of the so-called “coalition of the willing” for Ukraine on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a multinational “reassurance force” to deter Russian aggression once a ceasefire is in place – and to engage if attacked.

A group demonstrators chant slogans together as they hold posters during the protest. The ongoing protests were sparked by the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
Sopa Images via Reuters

Last week’s arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu sparked the largest anti-government rallies in a decade and resulted in widespread arrests throughout Turkey. Nearly 1,900 people have been detained since the protests erupted eight days ago.

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the then-nominee for US ambassador to the UN, during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
Al Drago/Pool/Sipa USA

An internal GOP poll found a Republican candidate trailing in a special election for a conservative-leaning district in Florida, forcing US President Donald Trump to make a decision aimed at maintaining the Republican Party’s majority in the House.

South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar, pictured here addressing the press in 2020.

REUTERS/Samir Bol

Alarm bells are ringing ever more loudly in South Sudan, as Vice President Riek Machar — chief rival to Prime Minister Salva Kiir — was arrested late Wednesday in an operation involving 20 armored vehicles at his compound in Juba. He was placed under house arrest, a move that is fueling fears that the country will soon descend into civil war.

Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, pictured here at the anniversary event of the departure of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 28, 2022.

REUTERS/Ali Khara

The Trump administration has dropped multimillion-dollar bounties on senior Afghan officials from the Haqqani network, a militant faction that carried out some of the deadliest attacks on American troops but has now positioned itself as a moderate wing within the Taliban government. But why?

The Canadian flag flies on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

REUTERS/Blair Gable

Canada’s foreign interference watchdog is warning that China, India, and Russia plan on meddling in the country’s federal election. The contest, which launched last weekend, has already been marked by a handful of stories about past covert foreign interventions and threats of new ones.

The BMW Foundation is dedicated to addressing concrete challenges that, when solved, create the greatest global impact. With the first challenge, “International Collaboration to Develop Energy Transition and Infrastructure Solutions,” the foundation aims to facilitate international collaboration that accelerates the net-zero transition. Access to reliable and affordable energy powers industries and businesses. Technology is one of the most important drivers for a successful transition, but it is international collaboration that will leapfrog societies across the globe. Find out how the BMW Foundation helps drive collaboration and solutions toward a clean and secure energy future here.