Israel announces ground offensive on Gaza City

BarcelonaThe battle for Gaza City has begun. The Israeli army announced this Tuesday the start of a ground offensive against Gaza City. Two divisions began deploying throughout the city after an intense night of bombardment. The military claims it now controls 40% of the territory, is in a position to take the capital, and will expand its operations in the coming days, in accordance with the plan ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A third division is besieging the city. Israel has initiated a new recruitment of reservists, who are expected to be mobilized by the first quarter of next year.

Benjamin Netanyahu's government has ordered its generals, against their discretion, occupy the city before next October 7, the second anniversary of the Palestinian attacks in 2023. However, his own army responded shortly afterward that the offensive could last "several months." "We expect it will take several months to secure the city and its centers of gravity, and additional months to completely clear the city due to the deep, entrenched infrastructure," said army spokesperson Effie Defrin.

"People are trapped in the city by the bombardment, with nowhere to go and no means of transportation. It's hell," Zamir Zaqout, deputy director of the Al Mezan Human Rights Center, told ARA from neighboring Deir Al Balah. Witnesses gathered by the few remaining media outlets inside Gaza speak of tanks in the streets, while troops—after weeks of surrounding the area—have begun to advance toward the city center.

Bashir Hajjad told Al Jazeera that "the situation is very complicated due to the bombing, helicopters, drones, and F-16 fighter jets," and explained that they have pulled "many and many dead" from under the rubble of the bombed buildings. Al Abd Zaqqut, a resident of the city, said that a cement block fell on a cousin of his and that they have been trying to find her for hours: "We are removing the rubble with our hands because we have no tools. We don't know how to rescue her. Or whether to leave or continue searching."

The offensive has focused on the Al Shati refugee camp and the neighborhoods of Tel al Hawa, Al Daraj, Al Maghribi, Al Sabra, Sheikh Radwan, and Al Karama. According to Israeli officials, this is the "initial phase" of the ground invasion. Israeli military sources confirm that the armored vehicles advanced into the center of the capital, although they carried out incursions and then withdrew. The army spokesman declared the city a "dangerous combat zone." So far, the death toll among Gazan authorities has risen to 85 since early morning, the majority in the capital. Three deaths from starvation were also recorded.

Upon entering the courthouse to testify in the trial in which he is accused of corruption, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was again accused of genocide on Tuesday by a UN commission of inquiry, declared that "a powerful operation has begun in Gaza City" and therefore requested that the hearing be postponed. Defense Minister Israel Katz celebrated that "Gaza is burning."

The evacuation orders issued by the military to the population have been merely a legal cover: there is literally no room left in southern Gaza to accommodate the million Palestinians who survive in the capital. According to the UN, only 142,000 people left the city in compliance with the forced displacement orders. The rest They have not been able to – or have not wanted to – leave, knowing that there is no safe place in the entire Strip and that conditions in the evacuation zone, which has also been bombed by Israeli aircraft, are terrifying. Even an Israeli army lawyer had warned a few days ago that the invasion of the city is not legally defensible. Alam Hejazy, a researcher at the Mediterranean Center for Human Rights, captured the moment of a huge explosion in the Tel Hawa neighborhood.

The chief of staff, General Eyal Zamir, had already warned that his troops were in no condition to take control of the Palestinian city, but said he would abide by government orders.

The ground offensive began just hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio left Tel Aviv for Qatar, after meeting with Netanyahu and appearing at a joint press conference, where he expressed unconditional support for the war strategy.

In fact, and already from Qatar, Rubio stated that a possible ceasefire "is no longer months away, but days, perhaps a few weeks," and placed all responsibility on Hamas. "The Israelis have already begun to operate […] Our main option is for this to end with a negotiated agreement in which Hamas says: 'We are going to demilitarize, we are no longer going to pose any threat,'" he declared. The US government representative reiterated the same message he delivered Tuesday during a joint press conference with Netanyahu: "Hamas must cease to exist." Israel and the United States agree in demanding that the Islamist movement—which for months has barely fired rockets at Israel and only carried out occasional ambushes against soldiers inside Gaza—lay down its weapons and surrender.