Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday confirmed a ground operation to seize Gaza City with the aim of bringing it under Israeli control. The development has drawn strong international reactions and concern as conditions in Gaza remain extremely fragile and the humanitarian crisis deepens, with civilians urged to evacuate.
According to the latest reports, at least 41 people have been killed and more injured in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, the Wafa news agency said, with most of the victims reported to be women and children. More than 40% of Gaza City’s residents have left, and the number of Israeli troops in the territory is set to increase. Ground forces are moving deeper into Gaza City towards the centre, and the military says it is prepared to continue operations as long as necessary to defeat Hamas.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said overnight it began what it described as the main phase of its Gaza operation. A military official estimated on Tuesday that thousands of Hamas fighters are in the area’s largest urban centre. “The main advance towards Gaza City began last night… We know there are thousands of Hamas terrorists in Gaza,” the official said, adding that the army believes “2,000 to 3,000” Hamas fighters are operating there.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that “Gaza is burning. The army is striking the terrorist infrastructure with an iron fist and our soldiers are fighting bravely to create the necessary conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.” Emphasising Israel’s resolve to continue its offensive in the Strip, he added: “We will not back down until the mission is completed.”
The IDF has intensified airstrikes on Gaza City and surrounding areas in recent days. Until recently, however, it had not sent ground forces into the densely populated northern part of the city, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are believed to have sought refuge.
According to the Israeli military, around 300,000 Palestinians have left Gaza City in recent weeks. The mass exodus is tied to a sharp increase in the city’s population, which is now estimated at one million displaced people. While the army has urged civilians to evacuate, compliance has been limited, with many fearing other parts of Gaza are equally dangerous.
Airstrikes on Gaza City intensified on Monday afternoon, shortly before Palestinian media reported Israeli tanks entering the city.
Night of heavy bombardment
ERTnews’s correspondent in Tel Aviv, Giorgos Sideris, confirmed an escalation in Israel’s military operations. “The information we have is that throughout the night bombardments from Israel did not stop, while there were fierce exchanges of fire with members of Hamas inside the Palestinian enclave,” he said. “What they are saying is that, for the first time, Israeli ground forces have reached areas they have not set foot in over the past two years.”
The Times of Israel reported that families of hostages were protesting outside the prime minister’s residence, fearing the Gaza operation endangers their loved ones.
Rubio: Hamas has a “very small window” to accept a deal
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Tuesday that Hamas has only a few days to accept a ceasefire as Israel launched particularly heavy strikes on Gaza City. “The Israelis have begun conducting operations there. We therefore believe we have a very small window of opportunity to strike a deal” with the Islamist movement, he told reporters. “We no longer have months,” he said, “but probably a few days, maybe a few weeks,” speaking as he departed Israel for Qatar.
“Our number one option is for this to end with a negotiated settlement in which Hamas says: ‘We will demilitarise; we will no longer pose a threat’,” the US top diplomat added. “Sometimes, when dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that is not possible, but we hope it can happen,” Rubio said. He added that Qatar is the only country capable of mediating on Gaza, despite Israel’s strike against Hamas leaders in the emirate. “Obviously they have to decide whether they want to do it after last week, but we want them to know that if there is one country in the world that could help end this through negotiation, it is Qatar.” Rubio met Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, expressing support for the renewed offensive and the stated goal of eliminating Hamas.
Eyewitnesses told AFP that Gaza City suffered heavy bombardment overnight that destroyed residential buildings.
UN investigators say Israel is committing ‘genocide’ in Gaza; Israel rejects report
UN investigators said on Tuesday they have concluded that Israel has been committing ‘genocide’ in Gaza since October 2023, with the ‘intent to destroy the Palestinian population’ in the enclave. “We have concluded that genocide is being committed in Gaza and that it is ongoing, and responsibility lies with the State of Israel,” Navi Pillay, head of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told AFP.
Israel said on Tuesday it “categorically rejects” the commission’s report. “Israel categorically rejects this distorted and false report and calls for the immediate abolition of this Commission of Inquiry,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
