JERUSALEM – The Israeli military began a ground attack on Gaza City on Tuesday, slowly hudging into the largest city in the Palestinian territory, which had been destroyed in the Israeli-Hamas war and had been blocked in the neighborhood. Residents who are still in the city are warned that they must leave and drive south.
The push has escalated again in the conflict, which has caused excitement in the Middle East, as any potential ceasefire feels far beyond that despite months of diplomacy. Although the military will not provide a timeline for the offensive, the Israeli media believes that this may take several months.
Earlier in the day, Israeli Defense Minister Katz announced that “Gaza is burning”, while an independent expert commissioned by the UN Human Rights Commission announced that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and joins the rising international chorus of such allegations.
Israel strongly rejected the claim, saying the expert’s report was “distorted and false”.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio left Israel and then briefly stopped in a energy-rich country in Catar, where he met with his ruling Emir, who was still angry at Israel’s strike last week, killing five Hamas members and a local security official.
Arab and Muslim countries condemned the strike at a summit on Monday, but did not have any major action against Israel, highlighting the diplomatic challenges to any changes in Israel’s behavior.
However, Egypt’s linguistic escalation to Israel is the first time in years to call it “enemy.” Qatar and Egypt have been the main negotiators in the war.
“We have a very short window of time that could happen,” Rubio said. “It’s a critical moment – an important moment.”
Rubio said “negotiation settlement” remains the best option, while acknowledging the dangers posed by Gaza to strengthen military movements.
“The only thing worse than war is the lasting war,” Rubio said. “At some point, this has to end. At some point, Hamas has to be in trouble and we hope this can happen through negotiations. But I think unfortunately, the time has run out.”
Kaz sent a signal earlier in the day that the operation began in Gaza.
“Gaza is burning,” he said. “We won’t relax, we won’t go back- until the mission is completed.”
An Israeli military official, who was in anonymity consistent with the military guidelines, said the “main phase” of the operation in Gaza City had begun, with troops heading from the city’s suburbs toward its center. During the operation, air strikes destroyed Gaza City for a while and knocked down the city’s towers.
The official said the Israeli military believes that the remaining 2,000 to 3,000 Hamas militants and tunnels used by militants in Gaza. The military estimated 350,000 people left Gaza – about one-third of the city’s population before a new ground attack began.
This contradicts the UN estimate released on Monday, which is that after the Israeli military warned that all residents should leave Gaza City before action, with more than 220,000 Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza in the past month. Before the evacuation warning, an estimated 1 million Palestinians lived in the area near Gaza City.
The offensive began, on Tuesday, a series of traffic was extended along the coastal roads in Gaza, with vehicles filled with mattresses and people’s belongings, while others walked.
By the end of the current operation, Israeli military graphics suggested that its forces wish to control all the Gaza Strip, except for a large chunk along the coast.
Palestinian residents undertook a heavy strike in Gaza City Tuesday morning.
By noon, the SHIFA Hospital in New York City received bodies of 34 people on strike, said Dr. Rami Mhanna, a hospital official. He said dozens of people were injured and entered the facility.
“I had a very difficult night in Gaza,” Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of the hospital, told the Associated Press. “The bombing didn’t stop for a moment.”
The Israeli military did not respond to an immediate request for comment on the strike, but has accused Hamas of building military infrastructure in civilian areas, especially in the city of Gaza.
Overnight, hostage families still in Gaza gathered outside the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and begged him to stop the action in Gaza City.
Some pitched tents slept outside his home in protest.
“I have an interest – to wake up this country, to restore my children to life and the dead with 47 other hostages, and to bring our soldiers home,” Einav Zangauker’s son Matan, who was held in Gaza, shouted outside his residence in Netanyahu.
Zangauker Zangauker: “If he had nothing and sent our precious, brave, heroic soldiers to fight when our hostages were used as human shields-he was not worthy of the Prime Minister,” Zangauker.
Israel believes that about 20 of the 48 hostages still held by militants, including Matan, are still alive. Hamas said only the remaining hostages could be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and Israel’s evacuation from Gaza.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 251.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israel’s retaliatory offensive killed at least 64,871 Palestinians, which does not say how many civilians or combatants are. The ministry is part of Hamas’s running government and is composed of medical professionals, who say women and children account for half of the deaths.
Egypt, who has reached a peace deal with Israel for decades and has served as a mediator in the Gaza war, appears to be losing patience with Israel.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi described Israel as “enemy” in a fierce speech at the Qatar summit on Monday. Diaa Rashwan, head of the Egyptian government’s National Information Services Department, said this is the first time the term has been used since the two countries established diplomatic ties.
Egypt was the first Arab state to establish ties with Israel, and its peace treaties were seen as the cornerstone of stable regional stability.
“Egypt is under threat,” Rushwan told the state-run additional news station late Monday.
El-Sissi’s “enemy” comment played a major role on Tuesday on the front page of the Egyptian newspaper, and while Cairo did nothing to change its position with Israel, the Egyptian government may be trying to show how serious Israel’s recent actions have been.
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Gambrell reported reports from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to the report in Germany, Germany, Jerusalem.
