- On Wednesday, Israeli forces advanced deeper into Gaza City, with soldiers and tanks entering Sheikh Radwan, one of the largest and most densely populated areas of the city center.
REUTERS: Israeli forces advanced deeper into Gaza City on Wednesday, with soldiers and tanks entering Sheikh Radwan, one of the largest and most densely populated areas of the city centre.
In recent weeks, Israeli troops have advanced through the outer suburbs of Gaza City and are now just a few kilometers from the city center, despite international calls to halt the offensive.
Gaza City residents reported that troops destroyed homes and tent camps housing Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war. At least 24 Palestinians, including several children, were killed by troops in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, most of them in Gaza City, according to local health officials.
“Sheikh Radwan is being burned upside down. The occupiers destroyed houses, burned tents, and drones transmitted audio messages ordering people to leave the area,” said Zakeya Sami, 60, a mother of five, referring to the Israeli military.
“If the takeover of Gaza City is not stopped, we could die, and we will not forgive anyone who stands by and watches and does nothing to prevent our death,” she told Reuters.
Residents said troops dropped grenades on three schools in the Sheikh Radwan area that were being used as shelters for displaced Palestinians, setting the tents on fire. They said the Palestinians fled before the bombing.
According to witnesses, the troops also detonated armoured vehicles packed with explosives to destroy houses in eastern Sheikh Radwan and bombed a medical clinic, destroying two ambulances.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Wednesday that it would continue its operation against “terrorist organizations” in the Gaza Strip and would “eliminate any threat” posed by the State of Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to take the city, which he calls the last stronghold of Hamas, whose attack on Israel in October 2023 triggered the war.
Netanyahu insists that Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but now controls only part of the territory, must be defeated unless it lays down its arms and surrenders.
The Israeli military has called on the country’s political leadership to instead reach a ceasefire agreement, warning that an attack would endanger hostages held in the Gaza Strip and soldiers carrying out the offensive, Israeli officials have said previously.
In Israel, public opinion is generally in favor of ending the war through a deal that would free the remaining hostages. On Wednesday, protesters in Jerusalem climbed onto the roof of Israel’s National Library, unfurling a banner that read, “You abandoned and killed.”
MASS MOVEMENT
“We need our soldiers to come home. We need our hostages to come home right now. They have been there too long. Stop the war now,” said Ravid Wekselbaum, 50, of Tel Aviv.
Tens of thousands of reservists reported for duty Tuesday to support the offensive. The forces will mostly perform non-combat roles, such as reconnaissance, or relieve combat troops in places like the West Bank, who could then be deployed to Gaza, a military official told reporters last month.
The attack on Gaza City threatens to displace a million Palestinians, nearly half the Strip’s population. In recent weeks, the Israeli military has ordered civilians to leave their homes, although many families already displaced are reportedly refusing to do so.
Israeli forces have killed more than 63,000 Palestinians since the war began in October 2023, according to local health authorities. The war has created a humanitarian crisis across the territory, with health officials in the Gaza Strip reporting that 367 people, including 131 children, have died so far from malnutrition and starvation caused by severe food shortages.
Israeli officials acknowledge that there is famine in parts of Gaza, but reject claims of starvation or starvation.
Hamas has offered to release some of the hostages, both living and dead, in exchange for a temporary ceasefire, to which Israel has not yet officially responded. Hamas has also offered to release all hostages in exchange for an immediate end to the war and a withdrawal of troops by the Israeli authorities, but has refused to lay down its arms.