Israel has commenced a ground offensive to seize Gaza City, two senior Israeli officials confirmed on Tuesday, escalating a nearly two-year conflict that has drawn mounting international condemnation.
The operation follows weeks of intensified bombardment that flattened residential buildings, killed hundreds, and displaced more than 100,000 people.
Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were “striking terror infrastructures” and aiming to secure the release of hostages and defeat Hamas.
However, families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza have condemned the assault, warning that the intensified strikes put their loved ones in grave danger.
“Our loved ones in Gaza are being bombarded by the IDF under the orders of the Prime Minister,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
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The humanitarian toll continues to mount. Hospital officials in Gaza reported at least 38 deaths overnight, including children. Videos verified by reporters showed grieving parents mourning their children’s bodies wrapped in white shrouds.
According to former Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, more than 10% of Gaza’s population has been killed or injured since the war began figures that align closely with the Palestinian Health Ministry’s casualty reports, which Israel has previously disputed.
Despite calls from the United Nations and foreign governments to halt the assault, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead. Acknowledging that Israel faces “a kind of isolation” over the war, Netanyahu said the country must adapt to becoming more self-reliant, even as critics accuse his policies of leading Israel into diplomatic and economic isolation.
The United Nations estimates that one million Palestinians are at risk of forced displacement from Gaza City. Already, more than 320,000 have fled the area, with many heading to overcrowded shelters that lack food, water, and medical supplies.
(CNN)
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