Israeli ground forces move into Gaza City, sowing chaos

War on Gaza
By Editor_1
Palestinians, many on foot, cross the Wadi Gaza Bridge as they flee Gaza City on Monday (Sept. 15, 2025). US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cast doubt on the chances of negotiating the surrender of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, saying on Monday during a visit to Israel that a diplomatic deal to end the war in Gaza might not be possible -Saher Alghorra/The New York Times

By Aaron Boxerman, Lara Jakes, Isabel Kershner, Liam Stack and Michael Levenson

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military launched a long-threatened ground assault to take over Gaza City after a night of intense bombing, sending many residents fleeing Tuesday (16) from the devastated but still densely populated urban area that is home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

The ground operation and the intensifying bombardment deepened the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, which has been shattered by a nearly two-year war that has killed tens of thousands of people and caused rampant hunger. Palestinians in Gaza City described scenes of panic as Israel pounded the area with heavy airstrikes that shook the ground. Local health officials said that more than 20 people had been killed and dozens more wounded.

“We are all terrified,” said Montaser Bahja, a former schoolteacher sheltering in an apartment in western Gaza City near the coast. “Death would be more merciful than what we’re living through.”

Israel said the ground operation, which had been building up for weeks, was necessary to free the remaining hostages seized in the Hamas-led 2023 raid that started the war and to prevent the militants from regrouping and planning future attacks.

It announced the operation on the same day that a United Nations commission investigating the war said that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians. Israel has vehemently denied the accusation, saying that the target of its military campaign is Hamas, not the Palestinian people.

But its latest ground operation fuelled more international criticism of its conduct in the war

After stepping up airstrikes in recent days, the Israeli military said Tuesday that soldiers from three divisions of active duty and reserve troops had begun “expanded ground operations” in Gaza City.

In the coming days, additional troops are expected to gradually advance into the city, an Israeli military official said at a briefing with reporters Tuesday, asserting that at least 2,000 Hamas militants remained there.

An Israeli military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, said the operation would “last as long as necessary” to free the hostages and defeat Hamas, estimating that it would take “a number of months”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said the attack was an attempt to decisively rout Hamas in one of its last strongholds, but many Israelis are sceptical. Israel has repeatedly conducted major offensives in parts of Gaza without forcing Hamas to surrender or lay down its weapons.

Netanyahu said in a video statement Tuesday evening that Israeli forces were operating in Gaza City to defeat Hamas and to hasten the departure of the remaining residents.

“We are making efforts at the moment to open additional routes to facilitate a quicker evacuation of the Gaza population and to separate them from those terrorists we want to attack,” he said.

The Israeli military said 350,000 Gaza City residents had heeded previous evacuation orders. But roughly half a million people are believed to still be sheltering in the city, parts of which have been levelled by airstrikes. The Israeli military warned those remaining on Tuesday to leave immediately.

Many did, walking along dusty roads next to trucks loaded with mattresses and tents. But others said they simply could not afford to flee.

“I don’t have anywhere to go in southern Gaza — no house, no tent, no car in which to travel,” said Bahja, the former schoolteacher. “They’re not fighting Hamas. They’re fighting all of us civilians.”

It was unclear how far Israeli forces had advanced into the city. Satellite imagery Tuesday morning showed Israeli armoured vehicles on nearly all sides of Gaza City. Israeli military analysts said the troops were expected to move slowly, in part out of fear that they could accidentally strike hostages.

The Israeli military believes that Hamas militants will not fire on the troops as they move into the city, according to two Israeli military officials, who spoke anonymously to discuss war planning. Instead, Hamas will likely wait until Israeli forces are deep inside Gaza City and then launch guerrilla-style ambushes, they said.

The Israeli government signed off on the plan to take over Gaza City in August, when Israeli forces were operating on the city’s outskirts. By the end of the month, much of Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood had been razed to the ground. Since then, Israeli military strikes have destroyed high-rise buildings that the military said Hamas was using for surveillance and other activities. Hamas has denied the claims.

The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said the military was carrying out the incursion at “the most significant test point” in the campaign to defeat Hamas. “The greater the intensity of the attack here, the more directly it will overwhelm Hamas,” he said in a statement, “and it will also create greater leverage for the release of the hostages”.

Hamas condemned the ground operation, saying it would worsen the humanitarian catastrophe engulfing Gaza. In a statement, the militant group called on the international community to intervene against Israel and stop the new offensive, which it accused the United States of enabling.

The operation has divided Israelis. While some praised it as a critical step to vanquish Hamas, others said it would endanger the lives of Israeli soldiers and the roughly 20 remaining hostages who are believed to be alive. Relatives of the hostages and others demonstrated against the ground assault outside Netanyahu’s house Monday night.

“There is no other place to be,” said one of the protesters, Michael Gilad, 53. “But we aren’t of interest to this government. Nor are the hostages or the soldiers.”

The operation led to further international condemnation of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. Britain’s foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, called it “utterly reckless and appalling.”

“It will only bring more bloodshed, kill more innocent civilians and endanger the remaining hostages,” Cooper said in a post on social media, in which she reiterated calls for a ceasefire, for the hostages in Gaza to be released and for aid to enter the territory without restrictions.

Germany, which has been a staunch supporter of Israel, also criticized the assault, with the country’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, saying the country was on “the wrong path.”

“We reject this, and have made this clear to the Israeli government,” he said at a news conference in Berlin.

-New York Times                           

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