Israel intensifies ground attacks on Gaza City amid despair among a million residents

BarcelonaIsraeli forces have intensified attacks on Gaza City in recent hours, starting Wednesday night and continuing into the early hours of Thursday, and have already begun encircling it. According to Al Jazeera sources in the Palestinian enclave, two infantry and armored brigades are operating in the Zeitoun neighborhood, on the outskirts of the Strip's capital, following heavy air and naval bombardments, while another brigade is operating in the Jabalia camp in the north. The declared objective It is the conquest of the city, still inhabited by nearly a million people, subjected to a relentless siege and with no safe evacuation routes.

In fact, according to information provided by the BBC, based on plans by the Israel Defense Forces, 90% of the Gaza Strip is under movement restriction orders and under the effective control of the Israeli army.

The increased military pressure has unleashed a new chaotic and desperate exodus. Thousands of civilians have begun leaving Gaza City on foot, carrying bags, mattresses, or children in their arms, not knowing exactly where to go or if they will find a safe place. Entire families abandoned their shelters in the face of the imminent threat of urban fighting and continuous bombing. "We don't know where we're going, we're just fleeing," one man explained on television.

Hamas has denounced the offensive as a flagrant violation of international mediation efforts to achieve a ceasefire and accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to impose his vision of the conflict by military means. On Wednesday alone, at least 81 Palestinians, including 30 seeking humanitarian aid, were killed in air and ground attacks across the Strip.

In this context, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that "it is vital to immediately achieve an end to the Gaza Strip and the unconditional release of all hostages, and to avoid the mass death and destruction that a military operation against the city would inevitably cause." He also called for a reversal of the Israeli decision to expand illegal settlements in the West Bank, which he considers "a violation of international law."

Far from halting the escalation, Netanyahu expressed his "great appreciation" for the reservists on Wednesday and announced the call for 60,000 additional troops. This reinforcement confirms Israel's willingness to undertake a prolonged campaign, despite warnings from the UN and humanitarian organizations about the risk of mass destruction and an irreversible humanitarian catastrophe, even more severe than the one already unfolding.

Breakup of the West Bank

At the same time, the Israeli government has given the green light to the project known as E1, which contemplates an expansion of settlements in the West Bank in a strategic corridor between Jerusalem and the Ma'ale Adumim settlement. The international community has reacted harshly: European governments, the European Union, and the UN have condemned the decision because it irreversibly fractures the Palestinian territory and makes the creation of a future sovereign state unviable.

These military and political movements are part of a broader discourse by Netanyahu, who has repeatedly invoked the concept of "Greater Israel." This rhetoric is not merely symbolic: it poses a direct threat to the peace agreements signed with neighbors such as Jordan and Egypt, and a violation of international conventions that prohibit territorial expansion by force.

From the perspective of international law, the occupation and colonization of Palestinian territories constitute a serious and ongoing violation of the United Nations Charter, the Geneva Conventions, and resolutions such as Security Council resolution 2334, which in 2016 declared all settlement activity illegal. However, the Israeli government, pushed by far-right ministers like Bezalel Smotrich, has accelerated settlement construction to eliminate any option for a viable Palestinian state.

While this is happening in Gaza and the West Bank, the conflict is also spreading northward: the Israeli army attacked a motorcycle with a drone in southern Lebanon, in the town of Deir Seryan. The attack reportedly left at least one person injured, according to the Lebanese National News Agency, which reported the presence of a "hostile drone" in its airspace.

In parallel, the United States has announced new sanctions against officials of the International Criminal Court for the investigation of alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza, a decision that has been widely criticized by human rights organizations and the United Nations.

As troops advance on Gaza, Netanyahu presents his offensive as a step towards Israel's security, but the facts on the ground – forced displacements, indiscriminate bombing and colonial expansion – paint a picture closer to the imposition of a new territorial order based on the dream and lasting.