Here's a look at why it is so hard to end the war in Gaza

Israel is on the brink of launching another major offensive, this time in famine-stricken Gaza City.

The international community, along with nearly all Palestinians and many Israelis, wanted the war to end a long time ago — and a ceasefire seemed possible as recently as last month. So why is the conflict set to become even bloodier, nearly two years after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack?

Critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuse him of prolonging the war for political reasons. Netanyahu blames Hamas, which still holds around 20 living hostages, and says criticism of Israel's wartime conduct is only making the militant group more intransigent.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he wants the war to end and the hostages to come home. But his envoy, Steve Witkoff, walked away from ceasefire talks last month, blaming Hamas, and the president has exerted no public pressure on Israel to change course since it ended a ceasefire in March that he helped broker. It's unclear if the U.S. is pursuing a different strategy behind the scenes.

Hamas said last week that it accepted a ceasefire proposal that mediators described as being nearly identical to one Israel had approved. The U.S. and Israel have yet to respond publicly. It’s unclear if the allies, which have recently hinted at seeking a comprehensive deal, are working on something behind the scenes.

Here's a closer look at why the war continues with no end in sight.

Israelis have joined mass protests calling for a ceasefire that would bring the hostages back. They say the war continues because Netanyahu is trying to stay in power.

Netanyahu's governing coalition depends on far-right parties that want to continue the war until Hamas has been annihilated, facilitate the mass relocation of Palestinians to other countries, and rebuild Jewish settlements that Israel dismantled in 2005.

They have threatened to bolt if Netanyahu ends the war short of total victory. Opposition parties say they will step in and preserve his government if he reaches a hostage deal, but that would still leave Netanyahu severely weakened ahead of elections next year.

Losing office would leave the Israeli leader far more vulnerable to long-standing corruption charges and to public inquiries into the failures surrounding the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Netanyahu denies any such motives. He says the war must continue until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated, and that any agreement leaving the militant group intact and armed would allow it to eventually rebuild and carry out another major attack.

Netanyahu says the war could end tomorrow if Hamas releases the hostages and lays down its arms.

But he has also said Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza and facilitate what he calls the voluntary emigration of much of Gaza's population.

Palestinians and many others say that would amount to forced expulsion — and it's a nonstarter for Hamas.

The militant group has said it is willing to release the remaining 50 hostages — less than half believed by Israel to be alive — in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. It has also said it would hand over power to other Palestinians.

But it has ruled out laying down its arms or going into exile.

Even if Hamas were to agree to disarm, it would be difficult to verify. Other armed groups might soon replace Hamas at the vanguard of what many Palestinians — even opponents of Hamas — see as legitimate armed resistance to military occupation.

That's what happened when the Palestine Liberation Organization, the leading militant group of its day, agreed to go into exile in Tunisia after Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Hamas burst onto the scene in Gaza at the start of a Palestinian uprising five years later.

From Hamas' perspective, giving up arms would leave Palestinians defenseless in the face of Israel's ongoing military rule and expansion of settlements on lands they want for a future state. In their eyes it would all but doom that national aspiration.

In June, Trump sealed a ceasefire between Israel and Iran after ordering Netanyahu — by phone and social media post — to call off a wave of airstrikes. The stunning intervention in an ongoing Israeli military operation was a powerful demonstration of the United States' leverage over its close ally.

There has been no sign of that with the war in Gaza.

Trump has demanded that Hamas release the hostages while exerting no public pressure on Israel to halt or even curtail its operations — as former U.S. President Joe Biden tried to do with limited success.

Beyond providing billions of dollars worth of arms to Israel, the United States has shielded it from U.N. calls for a ceasefire, sanctioned international judges pursuing Israeli officials, cracked down on campus protests, and even threatened Canada with higher tariffs over its stance on the Mideast conflict.

The influence of other countries over Israel, including the more than 30 Western-aligned nations that have called for the war to end, pales in comparison.

Any pullback in U.S. support would alarm Israelis and might force Netanyahu to make concessions leading to a ceasefire — but there's no sign of that. And it's unclear what further pressure could be brought to bear on Hamas in Gaza after nearly all of its top leaders and thousands of fighters have been killed in one of the deadliest and most destructive military onslaughts since World War II.

On Monday, Trump told reporters there might be a “conclusive ending” in Gaza in the next two to three weeks, without elaborating.

“I think we’re doing a very good job,” he said. "But it does have to, it does have to end.”

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Displaced Palestinians fleeing Jabaliya move with their belongings on a street in Gaza City, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

President Donald Trump, left, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

An Israeli armored personnel carrier (APC) moves along the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

A demonstrator takes part in a performance during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

The sun sets behind buildings destroyed during Israeli ground and air operations in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal officer shot a person in the leg in Minneapolis after being attacked with a shovel during an arrest Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

The person cautioned the information was still preliminary, and the investigation was in its early stages. The person could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

The shooting took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) north of where an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head on Jan. 7 as she drove away.

A large group of federal agents and Minneapolis Police wearing gas masks fired tear gas into a crowd gathered at a north Minneapolis intersection near where Wednesday's shooting took place.

The city of Minneapolis said on the social media platform X that, “We are aware of reports of a shooting involving federal law enforcement in North Minneapolis. We are working to confirm additional details.”

Earlier Wednesday, a judge gave the Trump administration time to respond to a request to suspend its immigration crackdown in Minnesota, while the Pentagon looked for military lawyers to join what has become a chaotic law enforcement effort in the state.

Plumes of tear gas, bursts of chemical irritants and the screech of protest whistles have become common on the streets of Minneapolis, especially since Good's shooting.

Agents have yanked people from cars and homes and been confronted by angry bystanders who are demanding that officers pack up and leave.

“What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature needs to be lowered," state Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter said during the first hearing in a lawsuit filed by Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Local leaders say the government is violating free speech and other constitutional rights with the surge of law enforcement. U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez promised to keep the case “on the front burner” and gave the U.S. Justice Department until Monday to file a response to a request for a restraining order.

The judge said these are "grave and important matters,” and that there are few legal precedents to apply to some of the key points in the case.

Justice Department attorney Andrew Warden suggested the approach set by Menendez was appropriate.

The judge is also handling a separate lawsuit challenging the tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal officers when they encounter protesters and observers. A decision could be released this week.

During a televised speech Wednesday evening, Gov. Tim Walz described Minnesota as being in chaos, saying what's happening in the state “defies belief.”

“Let’s be very, very clear, this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement," he said. "Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”

Walz added that “accountability” will be coming through the courts.

The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down. The Pentagon is preparing to send military lawyers to Minneapolis to assist.

CNN, citing an email circulating in the military, says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is asking the branches to identify 40 lawyers known as judge advocate general officers or JAGs, and 25 of them will serve as special assistant U.S. attorneys in Minneapolis.

Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson appeared to confirm the CNN report by posting it on X with a comment that the military “is proud to support” the Justice Department.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking more details.

It’s the latest step by the Trump administration to dispatch military and civilian attorneys to areas where federal immigration operations are taking place. The Pentagon last week sent 20 lawyers to Memphis, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said.

Mark Nevitt, an associate professor at Emory University School of Law and a former Navy JAG, said there's concern that the assignments are taking lawyers away from the military justice system.

“There are not many JAGs but there are over one million members of the military, and they all need legal support,” he said.

Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who killed Good, suffered internal bleeding to his torso during the encounter, a Homeland Security official told The Associated Press.

The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity in order to discuss Ross’ medical condition. The official did not provide details about the severity of the injuries, and the agency did not respond to questions about the extent of the bleeding, exactly how he suffered the injury, when it was diagnosed or his medical treatment.

There are many causes of internal bleeding, and they vary in severity from bruising to significant blood loss. Video from the scene showed Ross and other officers walking without obvious difficulty after Good was shot and her Honda Pilot crashed into other vehicles.

She was killed after three ICE officers surrounded her SUV on a snowy street a few blocks from her home.

Bystander video shows one officer ordering Good to open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, Ross, standing in front, raises his weapon and fires at least three shots at close range. He steps back as the SUV advances and turns.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said Ross was struck by the vehicle and that Good was using her SUV as a weapon — a self-defense claim that has been deeply criticized by Minnesota officials.

Chris Madel, an attorney for Ross, declined to comment on any injuries.

Good’s family, meanwhile, has hired a law firm, Romanucci & Blandin, that represented George Floyd’s family in a $27 million settlement with Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, died after a white police officer pinned his neck to the ground in the street in May 2020.

The firm said Good was following orders to move her car when she was shot. It said it would conduct its own investigation and publicly share what it learns.

“They do not want her used as a political pawn,” the firm said, referring to Good and her family, “but rather as an agent of peace for all.”

Waving signs reading “Love Melts ICE” and “DE-ICE MN,” hundreds of teenagers left school in St. Paul and marched in freezing temperatures to the state Capitol for a protest and rally.

The University of Minnesota, meanwhile, informed its 50,000-plus students that there could be online options for some classes when the new term starts next week. President Rebecca Cunningham noted that “violence and protests have come to our doorstep.” The campus sits next to the main Somali neighborhood in Minneapolis.

Associated Press reporters Julie Watson in San Diego, California; Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; Ed White in Detroit; Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

Federal immigration officers at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A woman confronts a federal immigration officer at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People react after a firework was set off near the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Federal immigration officers shoot pepper balls as tear gas is deployed at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Federal immigration officers are seen Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Hundreds of protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal officers stand guard after detaining people outside of Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People visits a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A person is detained by federal agents near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)