Palestinians are evacuating parts of Gaza City as Israeli forces began the preliminary stages of a planned ground offensive.
Israeli troops have established positions on the outskirts of the city, home to more than one million Palestinians, following days of intensive bombing and artillery strikes. The operation has prompted renewed international calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Defence Minister Israel Katz approved the offensive on Tuesday, with the plan scheduled for security cabinet review later this week. Around 60,000 reservists are being mobilised for early September to support the operation.
Hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza City’s Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods have moved towards the north-western sections of the city, according to local officials.
Israeli troops establish foothold on city outskirts
Israeli Defence Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin confirmed troops are operating in Zeitoun and Jabalia areas as groundwork for the broader offensive.
“We have begun the preliminary actions, and already now, IDF troops are holding the outskirts of Gaza City,” Defrin said at a televised briefing Wednesday.
Two brigades are operating in Zeitoun neighbourhood, where forces located an underground weapons tunnel, whilst a third brigade operates in Jabalia, he added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “shortening the timelines” for seizing what he described as “the last terror strongholds” in Gaza.
Gaza’s Hamas-run Civil Defence agency reported 25 deaths across the territory Wednesday, including three children and their parents whose home in Shati refugee camp was bombed.
International calls mount for immediate ceasefire
UN Secretary-General António Guterres renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire “to avoid the death and destruction” an assault would “inevitably cause.”
French President Emmanuel Macron warned Wednesday the operation “can only lead to disaster for both peoples and risks plunging the entire region into a cycle of permanent war.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross said further displacement and intensified hostilities “risk worsening an already catastrophic situation” for Gaza’s 2.1 million population.
Mediators Qatar and Egypt presented a new proposal for a 60-day truce and release of approximately half the remaining hostages. Hamas said Monday it had accepted the plan, whilst Israel has not submitted a formal response.
Hamas accused Netanyahu of disregarding the ceasefire proposal and called him the “real obstructionist of any agreement,” according to Reuters.
Israel’s military campaign began following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages. At least 62,122 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.
More than 90% of Gaza’s homes are estimated damaged or destroyed, with healthcare, water and sanitation systems collapsed. UN-backed food security experts have warned that “the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” due to food shortages.
Experts, governments, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations have accused Israel of carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people.
(File photo)
