Israel launched a long-threatened ground assault on Gaza City on Tuesday, declaring “Gaza is burning” as residents reported the most intense bombardment since the war began nearly two years ago.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said troops were advancing deeper into the enclave’s main city and would expand their numbers in the coming days to confront what it estimates are 3,000 remaining Hamas fighters.
“Gaza is burning,” Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X. “The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure… to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”
Palestinian health officials reported at least 75 deaths Tuesday, most in Gaza City, including civilians killed when an Israeli strike hit a vehicle carrying displaced people. Video obtained by Reuters showed families digging through rubble to recover bodies after overnight missile strikes flattened two residential towers.
“They are destroying residential towers, mosques, schools and roads,” said Abu Tamer, a 70-year-old fleeing south with his family. “They are wiping out our memories.”
Despite Israeli warnings to evacuate, many residents said they could not afford to leave or had nowhere safe to go. “It is like escaping from death towards death, so we are not leaving,” said Um Mohammad, from Gaza’s Sabra suburb.
Israel says about 40% of Gaza City’s residents have fled. Hamas claims 350,000 have moved to central or western districts, while another 175,000 have left the city altogether.
U.S. President Donald Trump backed Israel, warning Hamas would have “hell to pay” if it used hostages as shields. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Jerusalem, said Washington still hoped for diplomacy but was “prepared for the possibility that’s not going to happen.”
In Brussels, the European Union said it would move Wednesday to impose new sanctions on Israel, including suspending trade provisions.
Meanwhile, a UN Commission of Inquiry accused Israel of genocide, charges Israel dismissed as “scandalous and fake.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the situation in Gaza “morally, politically and legally intolerable.”
Gaza’s health ministry said three more Palestinians died of malnutrition in the past day, bringing hunger deaths to at least 428. Israel disputes the figures but says it is adjusting humanitarian aid in light of mass displacements.
Much of Gaza City was devastated in the early months of the 2023 war, but about 1 million people later returned. The new assault risks forcing them into overcrowded coastal camps short on food, medicine, and shelter.
Israeli military officials have privately questioned the strategy. Sources told Reuters that Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to pursue a ceasefire, warning that storming Gaza City could endanger hostages and create a “death trap” for troops.
The war erupted after Hamas’s October 2023 attack killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Gaza’s health ministry says more than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s retaliatory campaign began.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
