In a long-feared escalation of the ground war, Israeli tanks have pushed deep into the heart of Gaza City, advancing into major residential areas and marking a new and potentially devastating phase of a conflict that has already claimed more than 65,000 Palestinian lives. The incursion, supported by relentless airstrikes and artillery fire, has sent a fresh wave of panic and forced displacement through a population with nowhere left to run.
The Israeli military confirmed on Tuesday that it had begun its ground offensive into the urban core of Gaza City, a sprawling, densely populated area that it considers the main stronghold of Hamas. Two army divisions, comprising tens of thousands of troops, are now operating in the city. The military’s stated goal is to “dismantle Hamas’s central stronghold” and its vast network of tunnels and command centers.
The new offensive has had an immediate and catastrophic effect on civilians. Residents reported a night of “heavy, relentless” bombardment, with hospitals in the area, including the children’s Rantisi Hospital, reporting dozens of new casualties. The strikes have toppled high-rise residential towers and homes, adding to the already immense destruction. An estimated 600,000 people are believed to have remained in the city, many of whom are now trapped by the advancing ground forces.
“There is not a single day without bombings and deaths in the south, even in the so-called humanitarian zones,” said Fatima al-Zahra Sahweil, a researcher, reflecting the widespread fear that no place in Gaza is safe. The UN has reiterated its “grave concerns” for the safety of civilians and warned that with the closure of key aid routes, a humanitarian catastrophe is worsening by the hour. The total number of Palestinians killed since the war began in October 2023 has now surpassed 65,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, a figure widely accepted by international humanitarian agencies.
As tanks roll into residential neighborhoods, the international community has reacted with alarm. A UN commission of inquiry accused Israel of committing genocide in a report released on the same day the offensive began, an accusation Israel has vehemently denied. The European Union is reportedly considering new tariffs and sanctions to pressure Israel to end the war, while Saudi Arabia and other nations have condemned the incursion.
For many Palestinians in Gaza, the military advance into their homes is a new chapter in a long-standing nightmare. They are caught between an advancing army and a devastated landscape, with few options for survival. As the battle for Gaza City’s heart begins in earnest, the world watches, bracing for a new level of carnage in a war that has already defied all expectations of horror.