Israeli tanks began advancing into two areas of Gaza City today, signaling a potential escalation in military operations as internet and phone lines were disrupted across the Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces have established control over neighborhoods in eastern Gaza City and have carried out bombardments in the Sheik Radwan and Tal al-Hawa districts in recent days as they push towards central and western areas where a large number of residents are seeking refuge.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 85 Palestinians have been killed due to Israeli airstrikes and gunfire throughout the territory in the last 24 hours, with most casualties occurring in Gaza City.
The Israeli military reported that four of its personnel were killed in clashes in southern Gaza.
Additionally, Israel struck military targets associated with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, while two Israelis died at the King Hussein Bridge, which connects the occupied West Bank to Jordan, an incident the Israeli military labeled as a “terrorist attack.”
Military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani stated that operations have been ongoing around the city for several weeks, but significant troop movements towards central Gaza began late Monday into Tuesday.
He added that a combined force of infantry, tanks, and artillery advanced with air support, indicating that the operation would gradually increase in intensity over time.
The current strategy, he explained, aims to defeat Hamas and apply pressure, which could lead to negotiations or hostage rescue operations.
Currently, 48 hostages taken during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, remain in the Gaza Strip, with Israeli officials believing that about 20 of them are still alive.
Families of the hostages have urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the assault on Gaza and pursue a ceasefire with Hamas to facilitate the release of their loved ones. Netanyahu insists that a military victory is necessary to bring them home.
Hamas’ military wing announced today that the hostages are “distributed within neighborhoods of Gaza City.”
In a written statement, they warned, “The initiation and expansion of this criminal operation means that you will not receive any prisoners, neither alive nor dead.”
The Palestinian telecommunications company stated that services were disrupted “due to attacks on several key routes supplying the area amid ongoing Israeli aggression.”
Since Israel announced its intention to capture Gaza on August 10, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled the city, but many more remain in place, either in destroyed homes amidst the rubble or in makeshift camps.
The military has been dropping leaflets urging residents to evacuate to a “humanitarian zone” in the southern area of the strip, yet aid agencies report dire conditions there, with insufficient food, medicine, and shelter available.
The World Health Organization has issued a warning today that a severe blood shortage in Gaza hospitals could halt essential services within days.