Israel has heavily bombed Gaza City overnight with unconfirmed reports from the US news site Axios and the Jerusalem Post that the military has now launched its ground offensive to occupy the entire city. Israeli strikes are also reported in central Gaza, in the direction in which thousands of people are fleeing. Palestinian officials say there are rising numbers of deaths and injuries.
The intensification came ahead of a long-threatened full-scale ground invasion of the city, which is home to hundreds of thousands of people. It came hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of unwavering US support during a trip to Jerusalem on Monday.
Early on Tuesday morning, Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, wrote on X, Gaza is burning and threatened that Israel, will not relent and we will not go back - until the completion of the mission. Local journalists in Gaza report almost constant Israeli air strikes and artillery and gunfire in Gaza City. Homes have been destroyed, trapping people in the rubble, with no official confirmation of a new ground incursion from the Israeli military.
Israel has demanded that Gaza City's residents leave and head south to a central area of the strip. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) estimate about 250,000 Palestinians have fled, but hundreds of thousands are believed to remain. Many residents claim they cannot afford to leave, while some say southern Gaza is unsafe due to Israeli air strikes.
As Rubio and Netanyahu met, leaders of Arab and Islamic countries condemned Israel's offensive in Qatar. Israel claims its war in Gaza is a response to a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. The conflict has resulted in more than 64,500 Palestinian casualties, with a significant portion being women and children. The humanitarian crisis is deepening, with UN warnings of catastrophic conditions if the offensive continues.
The intensification came ahead of a long-threatened full-scale ground invasion of the city, which is home to hundreds of thousands of people. It came hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of unwavering US support during a trip to Jerusalem on Monday.
Early on Tuesday morning, Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, wrote on X, Gaza is burning and threatened that Israel, will not relent and we will not go back - until the completion of the mission. Local journalists in Gaza report almost constant Israeli air strikes and artillery and gunfire in Gaza City. Homes have been destroyed, trapping people in the rubble, with no official confirmation of a new ground incursion from the Israeli military.
Israel has demanded that Gaza City's residents leave and head south to a central area of the strip. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) estimate about 250,000 Palestinians have fled, but hundreds of thousands are believed to remain. Many residents claim they cannot afford to leave, while some say southern Gaza is unsafe due to Israeli air strikes.
As Rubio and Netanyahu met, leaders of Arab and Islamic countries condemned Israel's offensive in Qatar. Israel claims its war in Gaza is a response to a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. The conflict has resulted in more than 64,500 Palestinian casualties, with a significant portion being women and children. The humanitarian crisis is deepening, with UN warnings of catastrophic conditions if the offensive continues.
