Israel says ‘Gaza is burning’ as it launches ground assault
JERUSALEM: Israel unleashed a long-threatened ground assault on Gaza City on Tuesday (Sep 16), declaring “Gaza is burning” as Palestinians described the most intense bombardment they had faced in two years of war.
An Israel Defence Forces (IDF) official said troops were moving deeper into the enclave’s main city, with numbers set to rise in the coming days to confront up to 3,000 Hamas combatants believed to remain there.
“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.”
BODIES TRAPPED UNDER RUBBLE, THOUSANDS FLEE
Air, sea and ground strikes pounded Gaza City as tanks advanced, with witnesses reporting huge blasts across neighbourhoods. Gaza health officials said at least 70 people were killed on Tuesday, most of them in Gaza City.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said what was happening in Gaza was “horrendous” and “morally, politically and legally intolerable.” A UN Commission of Inquiry also concluded Israel had committed genocide, a charge Israel dismissed as “scandalous” and “fake”.
At one strike site where two multi-storey residential buildings were destroyed overnight, residents pulled bodies from rubble. “We don’t know how to take her out. We have been working on it since 3am,” said Abu Mohammed Hamed, describing how his cousin’s body was trapped under concrete.
Columns of Palestinians streamed southward in donkey carts, rickshaws, overloaded vehicles or on foot. “They are destroying residential towers, the pillars of the city, mosques, schools and roads,” said Abu Tamer, a 70-year-old man fleeing with his family. “They are wiping out our memories.”
DIVISIONS OVER THE ASSAULT
The assault went ahead despite warnings from European leaders threatening sanctions, and from some Israeli military commanders who feared it could endanger hostages or become a “death trap” for troops.
Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a late Sunday meeting to pursue a ceasefire deal, three Israeli officials told Reuters.
US President Donald Trump sided with Israel, warning Hamas would have “hell to pay” if it used hostages as human shields. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Jerusalem, said Washington still hoped for diplomacy but must “be prepared” if that failed.
In Brussels, the EU said it would move on Wednesday to impose new sanctions on Israel, including suspending some trade provisions.
MASS DISPLACEMENT AND HUNGER
The IDF estimated 40 per cent of Gaza City’s residents had fled. Hamas said 350,000 people had left eastern districts, with another 175,000 heading south.
Much of Gaza City was destroyed early in the war, but around 1 million people had since returned. The latest evacuation orders risk confining most of Gaza’s population to overcrowded coastal encampments short of food, medicine and shelter.
Three more people died of malnutrition in the past 24 hours, Gaza’s health ministry said, bringing reported hunger deaths to at least 428. Israel disputes those figures, saying the extent of hunger has been exaggerated.
The war began with Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023 attack that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, Israeli figures show. More than 64,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Israel’s military response, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
