Thousands of Israeli soldiers storm Gaza City
Israeli troops and tanks are pushing deeper into Gaza City on the second day of a ground offensive widely condemned internationally as Palestinians flee the devastated area en masse.
Israel’s military said air force and artillery units attacked the city more than 150 times in the past few days before the ground forces moved in. The strikes have toppled high-rise towers in areas densely populated by tent camps for the displaced.
The death count in Gaza is now nearing 65,000 since the war began in October 2023, a figure said to be far lower than the actual number of people killed.
An Israeli military graphic suggested it plans to control all of the Gaza Strip except for a swath along the coast by the end of the current invasion.
Israeli forces have carried out multiple large-scale raids into Gaza City over the course of the war, causing mass displacements and heavy destruction, only to see Palestinian fighters regroup later.
This time, Israel has pledged to take control of the entire city, which experts said is experiencing famine.
Israeli army targets Deir el-Balah city
Israeli soldiers opened fire on eastern areas of Deir el-Balah city, in the central Gaza Strip, as artillery shelling targeted the same area, local residents say. In the vicinity of Sheikh Radwan, northwest of Gaza City, Israeli forces detonated booby-trapped robots near buildings.
Israeli forces continue to carry out intense attacks in Gaza City, forcibly displacing tens of thousands of residents in order to seize and occupy the territory.
‘Next level’ Israeli army attack on devastated Gaza City
Rob Geist Pinfold from King’s College London says two divisions of Israeli soldiers, or about 20,000 troops, are now involved in the plan to seize the encircled Gaza City.
“This is a real escalation and it is a sea change in how Israel has been fighting during this campaign in Gaza. Normally, we’ve seen much more surgical, small-scale operations. It’s easy to forget because of the desperate and dire situation on the ground in Gaza after so long, so much fighting, so much despair,” he said.
“This will really turn things up to the next level and we’ll see Gazans facing more acute need than ever before.”
He said Israeli soldiers are “stuck in this position” they don’t want to be in, and “fighting among a sea of civilians, but also having to look after their welfare and needs”.
“It’s important to remember this policy is opposed by a majority of Israelis, opposed by the Israeli military leadership. But it’s being pushed through by Netanyahu and his far-right coalition,” Geist Pinfold told Al Jazeera.
Internet and phone services interrupted in northern Gaza
The Palestinian Telecommunications Regulatory Commission has said internet and telephone services are down in northern Gaza due to Israeli attacks.
It reported that fixed internet and landline services had been interrupted in Gaza and North Gaza Governorates due to Israeli forces’ targeting of several main routes supplying the region.
It also said its crews are working around the clock to repair faults amid the dangerous situation on the ground.
