Israel launched a long-threatened ground offensive in Gaza City on Tuesday, declaring “Gaza is burning,” as witnesses reported the heaviest bombardment of the two-year war and long columns of civilians fled the shattered metropolis.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official said troops were pushing deeper into the enclave’s main urban center and that more soldiers would deploy in the coming days to confront up to 3,000 Hamas fighters the military believes remain in the city.
“The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure,” Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X, adding that soldiers were creating conditions for the release of hostages and the defeat of Hamas.
Gaza health officials said at least 50 people were killed on Tuesday, most in Gaza City, as air strikes hit multiple districts while tanks advanced. Footage obtained by Reuters showed residents clawing through concrete after two residential blocks were destroyed overnight; a woman wept as a small child’s body was lifted from the rubble.
Israel renewed calls for civilians to leave. Thousands streamed south and west on foot, donkey carts, rickshaws and packed vehicles. “They are destroying residential towers, mosques, schools and roads,” said Abu Tamer, 70, trekking with his family. “They are wiping out our memories.”
Some residents said they would not flee again. “It is like escaping from death towards death,” said Um Mohammad in the Sabra area, which has been under fire for days.
International reaction hardened. A U.N. Commission of Inquiry said Israel had committed genocide in Gaza — an assessment Israel called “scandalous” and “fake.” At the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump backed Israel and warned Hamas would have “hell to pay” if it used hostages as human shields. In Brussels, the EU executive prepared additional sanctions on Israel, and British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called the assault “reckless and appalling,” urging an immediate ceasefire.
Inside Israel’s war cabinet, some commanders have warned a Gaza City push could imperil remaining hostages or become a “death trap” for troops. Three Israeli officials said Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a late-Sunday meeting to pursue a ceasefire deal. Families of hostages rallied outside Netanyahu’s Jerusalem home as the offensive unfolded. “Our loved ones in Gaza are being bombarded by the IDF under the orders of the prime minister,” said Anat Angrest, whose son Matan is among around 20 hostages believed to be alive.
The IDF estimated about 40% of Gaza City’s residents had departed. Hamas said 350,000 people left eastern neighborhoods for central and western shelters, and another 175,000 left the city altogether for the south. Much of Gaza City was razed in the first months after Hamas’ Oct. 2023 attack on Israel, when militants killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Gaza’s health ministry says more than 64,000 Palestinians have since been killed. The ministry added three more deaths from malnutrition in the past day, taking reported hunger fatalities to at least 428, which a global monitor has called a man-made famine. Israel disputes the scale of hunger.