Israel launched its offensive in Gaza City on Tuesday, vowing to overwhelm a city already in ruins from nearly two years of war as thousands of Palestinians fled in vehicles strapped with mattresses and other belongings that clogged a coastal road.
The operation into the largest Palestinian city escalated a conflict that has roiled the Middle East and likely pushed any ceasefire with Hamas farther out of reach. The military would not offer a timeline for the offensive that aims to crush the militant group’s ability to fight, but Israeli media suggested it could take months.
“Gaza is burning,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared as the operation began. Heavy bombardment pounded the city, and troops began moving in from the outskirts after weeks of airstrikes and buildup toward the renewed assault.
The offensive began the same day that independent experts commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected the allegation, calling the report “distorted and false.”
Human Rights Glance
Conditions in overcrowded coastal encampments for displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are so desperate that some people who fled Israel's new offensive on famine-struck Gaza City in recent days are heading back toward the falling bombs, they said.
The Israeli military has issued an evacuation order covering the entirety of Gaza City for the first time during the current round of fighting, ahead of a planned offensive to take over and occupy the city.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned residents of Gaza City to leave straight away, as Israel said it would ramp up air strikes on the territory hours after six people were shot dead in Jerusalem.





























