Israel launched a ground assault on Gaza City early on Tuesday, following US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s support for eradicating Hamas.
A UN probe accused Israel of “genocide” in the Palestinian territory and accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials of incitement.
The assault drew widespread condemnation, with the UN rights chief demanding an end to it.
“Last night, we transitioned into the next phase, the main phase of the plan for Gaza City… Forces have expanded ground activity into Hamas’s main stronghold in Gaza, which is Gaza City,” a military official told journalists.
“We are moving towards the center” of Gaza City, he said.
According to the military, there are approximately 2,000-3,000 Hamas militants operating in the area.
Defense Minister Israel Katz previously stated that Gaza City is “on fire” and that the IDF is targeting terrorist infrastructure with vigor.
The military estimates that approximately 40% of Gaza City residents have relocated to the territory’s south. Witnesses have reported ongoing bombing in Gaza City.
Only huge piles of debris remained of a residential block in the north of the city, hit by overnight bombing.
“Why kill children sleeping safely like that, turning them into body parts?” said Abu Abd Zaquout.
“We pulled the children out in pieces.”
On Tuesday, Israeli fire killed at least 36 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s civil defense service.
Due to media restrictions on the territory and limited access to many areas, the AFP is unable to independently verify the information provided by the civil defense service or the Israeli military.
The UN Independent International Panel of Inquiry (COI), which does not speak for the UN, concluded that “genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur,” panel chief Navi Pillay told AFP.
“The responsibility lies with the State of Israel.”
The investigators concluded that Israeli forces perpetrated genocidal actions against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with the goal to exterminate them as a group, based on statements made by Israeli civilian and military leadership and their behavior patterns.
According to the investigation, Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant “incited the commission of genocide.”
Israel said it “categorically rejects this distorted and false report” and called for the “immediate abolition” of the COI.
According to UN rights chief Volker Turk, “It’s for the court to decide whether it’s genocide or not, and we see the evidence mounting.”
The European Union said the ground assault on Gaza City would worsen an already “catastrophic” humanitarian situation, while Britain claimed it would bring only “more bloodshed, kill more innocent civilians, and endanger the remaining hostages.”
Despite the growing criticism, Rubio met with Netanyahu on Monday and expressed strong support for the offensive strategy.
“We think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen. We don’t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go,” he told reporters as he left Israel.
Rubio stated that the US preferred a diplomatic approach in which Hamas demilitarized but added, “Sometimes when you’re dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that’s not possible, but we hope it can happen.”
Before heading to Qatar, the top US ambassador expressed hope that the US ally will continue its Gaza mediation efforts, despite Israel’s air attacks on Hamas officials who met in the Gulf country last week to hear a US truce plan.
“We want them to know that if there’s any country in the world that could help end this through a negotiation, it’s Qatar,” Rubio said.
Rubio’s visit occurred a week before France was scheduled to convene a UN session at which numerous Western states, enraged by Israeli stubbornness, intend to acknowledge a Palestinian state.
Rubio described statehood recognition as “largely symbolic,” while Netanyahu, whose government strongly opposes such a move, said his country may take unspecified “unilateral steps” in retaliation.
According to an AFP calculation of official numbers, Hamas’ strike in October 2023 killed 1,219 persons, the majority of whom were civilians.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 64,964 people, the majority of whom are civilians, according to numbers from the territory’s health ministry that the UN considers accurate.
