Israel launched an expanded ground assault on Gaza City on Tuesday, pressing ahead despite international condemnation, as tens of thousands of Palestinians fled the enclave’s largest urban center under heavy bombardment.
Israeli officials said the long-expected incursion began on the city’s outskirts, where intensified airstrikes in recent days have leveled high-rise buildings.
“Gaza is burning,” Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote, saying the military was targeting “terror infrastructures” while seeking to secure the release of hostages and defeat Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the campaign as a “critical stage” in the war, calling Gaza City one of Hamas’s final strongholds.
The offensive comes as the United Nations warns of worsening humanitarian catastrophe, with parts of Gaza already declared in famine. Nearly one million people—about half the enclave’s population—live in and around Gaza City. Israel has urged civilians to evacuate, but the military says only around 40% have done so, a figure CNN could not independently verify.
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