“GAZA is burning” Israel has said after another night of strikes blitzed the region.
The IDF warned residents to move south as Israel launched its ground operation in the famine-stricken city – and the US cautioned Hamas “time is running out” to make a deal.
Israeli forces said the increased operation “to destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure” has started after another night of heavy bombardment killed at least 20 people in northern Gaza.
The country’s Defence Minister Israel Katz announced “Gaza is burning”.
Roughly a million Palestinians were living in Gaza City before the evacuation warnings.
And over 220,000 have been forced to flee northern Gaza over the past month because of Israeli strikes.
Israel said it’s been urging Gaza locals to evacuate for the past month but charities warned Palestinians face “an impossible choice” – either flee and face dying of starvation on the road or stay and risk being killed by Israeli forces.
It comes as the UN today confirmed Israel has committed “genocide” in Gaza since October 2023, with the “intent to destroy the Palestinians”.
An IPC report today said: “If a ceasefire is not implemented to allow humanitarian aid to reach everyone in the Gaza Strip, and if essential food supplies and basic health, nutrition and [sanitation and water] services are not restored immediately, avoidable deaths will increase exponentially.”
The war in Gaza has killed more than 64,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cautioned Hamas “time is running out” to make a deal, citing the dangers “an intensified” military campaign posed to the war-torn region.
Referencing a path to peace, he said he hoped “it can happen through negotiation”.
He said: “The Israelis have begun to take operations there. So we think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen.
“We don’t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks so it’s a key moment — an important moment.
“Our preference, our No. 1 choice, is that this ends through a negotiated settlement.
“The only thing worse than a war is a protracted one that goes on forever and ever.
“At some point, this has to end. At some point, Hamas has to be defanged, and we hope it can happen through a negotiation. But I think time, unfortunately, is running out.”
Just yesterday, Israel launched a fresh ground offensive to occupy Gaza city.
Amid reports of the assault, Donald Trump claimed Hamas were moving hostages above ground “to use them as human shields”.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, he said: “I hope the Leaders of Hamas know what they’re getting into if they do such a thing.
“This is a human atrocity, the likes of which few people have ever seen before.
“Don’t let this happen or, ALL ‘BETS’ ARE OFF. RELEASE ALL HOSTAGES NOW!”
Netanyahu thanked Trump for his “unflinching support” for, what he calls, Israel’s battle against Hamas and the release of its hostages.
It’s understood 20 hostages remain under Hamas’ control.
The Israeli PM has been uncompromising in his determination to wipe out Gaza.
In the wake of his attack on Qatar, he warned any nations harbouring terrorists: “Expel them or bring them to justice.”
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15192844/gaza-israel-burns-war/
