Israel launched a long-anticipated ground assault on Gaza City yesterday, as Palestinians there described the most intense bombardment they have faced in two years of war.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official said ground troops were moving deeper into the enclave's capital, and that the number of troops would increase in the coming days to confront up to 3.000 Hamas fighters who the IDF believes are still in the city.
"Gaza is burning," Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on the X network. "The IDF is striking with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure, and IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas."
By launching the offensive, the Israeli government is defying European leaders who are threatening sanctions, as well as warnings even from some Israeli military commanders that it could be a costly mistake, according to Reuters.
US President Donald Trump sided with Israel, telling reporters at the White House that Hamas would "pay a hell of a price" if it used hostages as human shields during the offensive.
Meanwhile, a United Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. Israel called the assessment “scandalous” and “false.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said yesterday that what is happening in Gaza is horrific and that “we are witnessing the systematic destruction of Gaza.” He added that war in the Palestinian territory is morally, politically and legally unacceptable.
Health officials in Gaza said at least 75 people were killed yesterday, most of them in Gaza City, as the city was hit by airstrikes and tanks advanced.
At the site where a rocket destroyed two high-rise buildings overnight, people climbed over a huge pile of collapsed concrete to pull out victims, footage seen by Reuters showed. One woman cried as the body of a small child was pulled from the rubble, hastily wrapped in a blanket and carried away.
Abu Mohamed Hamed said several of his relatives were wounded or killed, including a relative whose body was trapped under a concrete block: "We don't know how to get her out. We've been working on it since three in the morning."
Israel again called on civilians to leave the area, and long columns of Palestinians moved south and west in horse-drawn carts, rickshaws, crowded vehicles or on foot, Reuters reported.
"They are destroying apartment towers, city pillars, mosques, schools and roads," Abu Tamer, a 70-year-old man making the grueling journey south with his family, told Reuters in a message. "They are erasing our memories."
Hours before the escalation, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Jerusalem that while the US wanted a diplomatic end to the war, "we must be prepared for the possibility that it may not happen."
However, in Brussels, a European Commission spokesman announced that the European Union will adopt new sanctions against Israel today, including the suspension of certain trade provisions.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called the offensive "reckless and appalling" and called for an immediate ceasefire.
"As if we were running away to death"
Reuters writes that some residents remained, too poor to afford a tent and transportation or because they had nowhere to go for safety.
"It's like fleeing from death to death, that's why we're not leaving," said Um Mohamed, who lives in the suburb of Sabra, which has been under air and ground fire for days.
The IDF said it estimated that 40 percent of Gaza City's population had fled their homes. Hamas said 350.000 people had fled from the city's eastern parts to displacement shelters in its central or western areas, while another 175.000 had left the city altogether and headed south.
Much of Gaza City was destroyed in the first weeks of the 2023 war, but about a million Palestinians have returned to their homes amid the rubble. Their renewed expulsion means confining most of Gaza's population to overcrowded camps along the southern coast, lacking enough food, medical supplies and space, according to Reuters.
IDF spokesperson Efi Defrin said the military was adjusting its humanitarian efforts in light of the evacuations and that “there will be no famine situation in Gaza.”
Three more Palestinians have died from malnutrition and hunger in the past 24 hours, the Gaza health ministry said yesterday, bringing the total number of deaths from starvation to at least 428, mostly in the past two months. Israel says the hunger problem is being exaggerated.
Some Israeli military commanders have expressed concern that an offensive on Gaza City could endanger the remaining hostages held by Hamas or pose a “death trap” for troops.
In a meeting called by Benjamin Netanyahu late Sunday with security chiefs, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir urged the prime minister to push for a ceasefire agreement, three Israeli officials said.
Netanyahu said yesterday that if there is one lesson learned from Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, it is that Israel must create an "independent military industry" that can "withstand international constraints."
Families of the hostages, who are leading demands for a ceasefire, gathered late Monday outside Netanyahu's home in Jerusalem as news of the offensive arrived.
“Our loved ones in Gaza are being bombed by the IDF on the orders of the prime minister,” said Anat Angrest, whose son Matan is among the 20 hostages believed to still be alive.
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