The Israeli military has begun a new ground offensive in Gaza City, ordering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee the major population centre.
A military official said the “next phase” of the conflict was underway, after a night of heavy airstrikes across the city left some 34 people dead, according to medical sources.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has been operating on the outskirts of Gaza City for weeks, levelling a series of residential tower blocks in the suburbs and edging closer towards its centre.
“Gaza is burning,” Defence Minister Israel Katz posted on X. “The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure, and IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”
The Israeli military believes there are approximately 2,000 to 3,000 Hamas militants left in Gaza City, as well as tunnels used by the militant group.
Around 320,000 people are estimated to have left the city so far, an Israeli official said. Some 650,000 are thought to remain in the capital – home to more than two million people before the outbreak of war in October 2023.
Last month, UN-backed food security experts declared a famine in Gaza City and its surrounding areas, describing it as “entirely man-made.”
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said more than half a million people across Gaza were facing “catastrophic” conditions characterised by “starvation, destitution and death”.
It comes as a United Nations commission of inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza during the war. Israel fiercely rejected the claim, calling the experts’ report “distorted and false”.
Ruwaida Amer, a Gaza resident and journalist, said Gaza City’s remaining residents were “determined to stay” but the “horrific bombardment” was forcing them to evacuate.
“The bombing is terrifying, people cannot move in the streets, and all areas are surrounded by booby-trapped robots,” she told The i Paper.
“Residents are determined to stay in the city, but the army’s actions make them terrified of being killed by these missiles. Residents describe the missiles being used as new, as their impact reaches a long distance.
“They are incendiary missiles that are dangerously destructive. What is happening now in Gaza City is a true genocide, as residents are being forced to flee under this insane bombardment. The scene in the city is very frightening.”
Long queues of cars laden with belongings stretched down the coastal road leading out of the city on Tuesday, while other civilians made their way on foot.
Residents were struggling to afford the “exorbitant costs” of displacement, Amer said.
“To pay the fare for the van that transports their belongings from north to south, it takes approximately 2,500 shekels (about £650), and the rent for a seating area costs the same amount.
“I have been working hard since the beginning of the war – all the money I earn I spend on the war.”
Traffic leaving the city is “very congested”, Amer added, with it taking nine hours to reach the cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis in the south of the Strip, both of which are largely controlled by Israel.
The IDF has told them to go to a newly designated “humanitarian area” in al-Mawasi, in central Gaza, promising to provide shelter and healthcare.
But the region has been bombed repeatedly by Israeli forces throughout the war. According to the UN, nowhere in Gaza can be considered “safe”.
“A small displacement area with minimal amenities and services is a death sentence for the residents of the Gaza Strip,” Amer added.
Much of Gaza City was damaged by bombing in the early weeks of the war, but around one million Palestinians returned to their homes among the ruins.
Israel has repeatedly issued sweeping evacuation orders to the region’s residents since October 2023, most recently in May.
The ongoing war began after Hamas forces crossed into Israel, attacking the military and civilians, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israeli authorities say 20 of the remaining 48 hostages in Gaza are still alive.
Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed over 64,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
More than 90 per cent of homes are estimated to have been damaged or destroyed, with most of the population being displaced repeatedly.
The UK Government and the European Union have both urged Israel to halt its latest ground offensive.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper wrote on X that the assault on Gaza City “will only bring more bloodshed, kill more innocent civilians & endanger the remaining hostages”.
